Why Aren't You?
by Emotional-Hikari
Summary: -Chapter 15!- AU! It was simple - I insulted him, so naturally he fought back. He insulted me, so of course I'll fight. He kisses me for no reason, and how the hell am I suppose to counter that?
1. Chapter 1 : First Kiss?

Eh… I said I didn't need another writing project, but well … here it is …

This story is somewhat a prequel to one of my other stories, "_Come What Be_" which is solely Ron/Draco slash – this is a story about how their relationship got started, so it's set in the same world as the other one. It is not necessary to read "_Come What Be_" since they can stand on their own…

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature) for later chapters

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**-- Chapter One : First Kiss? --**

It was clear after three o'clock and the white washed hallways were completely empty, as expected the second the bell rang for the end of school. The students had all rushed off to their homes, or after school activities, or hanging around town with their friends. All but two students were free, as they followed after the teacher marching down the hallway infront of them, a disappointed expression on her face.

'I expected better from you two; I am very disappointed with your behaviors.' Professor McGonagall sighed, not once glancing back at the two sulking, teen boys following behind her. Ron Weasley softly grunted to himself, hands in his pant pockets as he trudged behind her; he spared a glare to the blond walking next to him who was holding a handkerchief to his nose, which was bleeding slightly. While he shouldn't have been so smug about it, Ron was grinning inwardly at the fact he had given the other boy that bloody nose.

Draco Malfoy pulled the kerchief away once he was sure his nose had stopped bleeding, sending a glare to the redhead next to him. He had small blood stains on his white uniform shirt from the blood that had dripped earlier before McGonagall had stepped in on the scene and put them both in detention. It was just another typical bashing of Ron and his friends, only this time he had been particularly nasty about it; then without any warning, the redhead just charged at him and hit him square in the face without thought. Draco retaliated and blindly threw a fist at him, but Ron had dodged and things just went from there till their little fight caught the teacher's attention.

'Inside, both of you.' McGonagall said sternly as she opened the door to an empty classroom. Both boys sulked before trudging in through the open door; she instructed them to sit down at any of the empty desks, both teens choosing the farthest corners possible. McGonagall walked to the front of the classroom, picking up a piece of chalk and wrote out the sentence _'I will not fight in school'_ on the blackboard, before turning to face them with a stern look.

'Now, I want you both to take out some paper and a pen and write this for the next hour. Absolutely no talking, so phones off if you have them – and no music, please.' She added eyeing Draco reaching to pull out a walkman from his bag; he growled a little, before putting it back, reaching to grab a notebook and a pen from his bag. Ron silently snickered as he pulled his own notebook and pen out on his desk, icy grey eyes glaring in his direction.

'Right then – you may begin now.' She took out some paperwork, then settled herself at the teacher's desk in the front; Ron and Draco grimaced but picked up their pens and began writing their lines. They wrote in complete silence, with nothing but the scratching of the pens against the surface of the papers being the only sound; McGonagall would occasionally glance up from her work to make sure Ron and Draco were behaving and doing their lines, then go back to her work. After thirty minutes had passed by, there was a frantic knock on the classroom door, all three of them startling a little at the unexpected sound.

'Come in.' McGonagall inquired; a small, stoutly woman with fly away graying hair pushed the door open in a hurry, a frantic expression on her face. Both boys recognised her as Professor Sprout, one of the nature and science teachers.

'What is it, Pomona?'

'Oh thank goodness I finally found you, Minerva. It's Rubeus – he's at it again.' Professor Sprout explained briefly; McGonagall's face tightened. Professor Rubeus Hagrid had a knack for getting himself into trouble, and while he usually means no harm, his standards of what is dangerous and what is not vastly differ from a normal person. The dark hair woman stopped what she was doing and instantly stood to her feet and headed towards the door; she paused briefly to give the two boys a stern look.

'I expect you both to behave while I help take care of this. I should hope to see the classroom in one piece when I get back.' Neither Ron nor Draco said anything as McGonagall disappeared through the door along with Sprout, closing it shut behind them as they headed down the hallway in a hurry.

Ron listened till their footsteps had completely faded away, before letting his pen drop from his hand. He propped a knee up against the edge of the desk and leaned his chair back so it was balancing on the back two legs, and stretched his arms forward. Draco glared at him from the corner of his eye, gently placing his pen down on the desk, and contented with simply sitting there. The two sat in silence for several minutes, neither facing the other much less saying a word to the other.

'Smooth move back then; did you intentionally planned to land yourself in detention, Weasel?' Draco spat, keeping his eyes focused at the edge of his desk; Ron only stared up at the ceiling, tapping his fingers idly on the surface.

'You started it – you're just a big mouth prat. All talk and no action.' Ron replied coolly; the blond turned his head to glare at him, silently wishing that the other boy's chair would slip and he'd fall back and knock his head on the desk behind.

'Your lot are nothing but an eye sore; and typical of a jock – fighting with your fists.'

'At least I _can_ fight – unlike someone who can't even hit, much less throw a proper punch.' Draco narrowed his eyes at the redhead, giving him a dirty glare; Ron only grinned smugly, sliding his knee away from the desk as he let the chair down back to its original position.

'See, that's the problem with people like you – you let money and words fight in regular circumstances, but when it comes down to getting dirty, you can't do shit with your hands.' Draco was on his feet in an instant, his chair screeching unpleasantly against the wooden floor at having been pushed back suddenly. Ron slowly rose to his feet, keeping a steady gaze with the blond, leaning back against the edge of the desk as he crossed his arms over his chest. The look on the other boy's face was almost murderous.

'You're saying I can't fight then?' Draco asked; his voice was surprisingly calm despite his expression. Ron looked as if he was going into thought, before answering.

'Hm, yeah – pretty much what I'm saying.' He noticed the shorter teen's hands curl into fists, uncrossing his arms and pushed himself away from the desk, grinning at the blond daringly.

Ice grey clashed against luke-warm blue as the two teens stared eye to eye with each other, neither saying a word and making so much as a movement. Ron smirked slightly, before shrugging his shoulders and held his arms out to the side, as if challenging the other teen to strike him. Draco stood still for several minutes, before lunging at the taller teen raising a closed fist in the air; Ron easily side stepped him, the blond's hand flying past his side. He was about to open his mouth, when the blond's other hand grazed him across the chin, making him stumble back a bit. Draco rubbed his knuckles, biting down on his lip to keep from wincing at the slight sting; the redhead's jaw line was harder then he thought.

Ron gently rubbed the area Draco had hit him; while it didn't hurt, it took him a little by surprise and he couldn't help but feel mildly impressed that Draco had purposefully missed to catch him off guard for the second attack.

'Not bad – but I bet a toddler could hit harder then you.' Draco didn't say anything, charging at the redhead head on, but Ron was prepared this time, and grabbed his wrist, quickly striking the blond in the stomach before he could register what was going on. Draco coughed, struggling to keep on his feet despite the aching pain coursing through his stomach upwards; he gritted his teeth as he glared up at the taller boy, a slight pained expression on his face. Ron only gave him a smug grin, grabbing Draco's other wrist as the blond weakly tried to hit him; the two grappled with each other, not seeming to care that if McGonagall were to walk back into the room right now that they'd be in even more trouble.

Ron wasn't sure, but something about seeing the usually calm and sophisticated blond struggling so desperately for release was stirring this odd sort of excitement in him. Draco was no longer trying to fight, and was simply more interested in putting some distance between him and the other teen; he couldn't win (although he'd never admit it outloud), but he damn well didn't want to be held captive like this. He was about to open his mouth to demand that the redhead let go of him, but was unable to utter a single word when Ron suddenly placed his mouth over his.

Draco froze, feeling his whole body tense as he felt Ron's tongue delve into his mouth. He shut his eyes tight against the strange feelings rising in his gut, struggling to release his wrists from the other's grip so he could push him away. Without any warning, Ron pulled back and let him go as if his skin was on fire, and his mouth full of poison. The look on the redhead's face mirrored his own shocked expression, the taller teen putting a hand over his mouth; was that a slight look of guilt?

Ron suddenly lost interest in their fight, and quickly set to rearrange the desks and chairs they had knocked array during their struggle; Draco stood for a moment, before doing the same, doing everything to avoid eye contact – or any kind of contact – with the other teen. Once they had arranged the room back to its normal setting, they sat back down at their desks, picked up their pens and continued with their lines; not once did a single word pass between them.

At fifteens left of the hour, professor McGonagall finally returned to the classroom, a weary expression on her face. She glanced around the room mildly surprised that it was still in order and that both boys were still at their desks doing their lines.

'Well, this is surprising – the room is still in one piece after all this time.' Neither boys said anything as they dare not glance up from their papers; McGonagall looked up at the clock at the back of the room, letting out a heavy sigh before going over to the desk to pick up her paper work.

'I know there's still fifteen minutes left, but I think you've proven you can behave without supervision for a long period of time. You're free to go, Mr Weasley, Mr Malfoy.' She excused; Ron and Draco briefly nodded their heads, closed up their notebooks and stashed away their pens. Without any word, they quickly gathered up their bags, raced to the door and headed quickly down the hallway. Ron headed in the opposite direction, deciding to take the back way out, while Draco headed for the front entrance where he suspected that the family driver would be waiting for him. He stepped out of the school, glancing up to see that it was pouring down rain; he had barely reached for his phone when he noticed a man in a crisp, tailored suit come up the pathway, a large umbrella in hand.

'Forgive me for keeping you waiting, young master.' Draco didn't say anything, walking alongside the man underneath the umbrella towards the sleek, black vehicle parked just outside the school gates. He normally would have insulted or degrade the man by now for his incompetence, but he just couldn't find the words – or the focus – to do so as he climbed into the back, the door shutting tight behind him. He barely registered the sound of the front door closing as the driver got into the car and started up the engine.

Draco reached a hesitant hand to his lips, letting the tip of his fingers lightly touch them as he remembered the kiss Ron had given him. Why the redhead had kissed him in the first place he hadn't a clue, but that wasn't what was worrying him – what worried him was the sensations it stirred in him. He gritted his teeth before shaking his head; he slumped back forcefully against the leather covered seats, sitting there for several minutes, before reaching for his school bag he had tossed carelessly aside. He searched frantically for his phone and pulled it out; he flipped it open and went straight to his address book. After finding the number he wanted, he placed the phone to his ear and waited as he listened to the sounds of it ringing on the other side.

'Hello, Parkinson speaking.'

'Pansy? It's Draco.' He could hear the girl practically squeal on the other end, but he didn't care; Pansy Parkinson was not exactly the prettiest girl in school, but Draco wasn't dating her for her looks. Her mother owned one of the richest and most successful entertaining enterprises in the country and was a top notch entertainer herself, but had retired young to raise a family; from an early age, Draco had been taught to build your connections and pull together a network that would favor you in the future. He had no particular interest in Pansy, but she was easy to please with even just a simple phone call and catered to whatever whim he asked of her.

'It's unusual for you to call me at this late time, Draco. Is everything all right?' She asked, her voice laced with concern and over protectiveness; it was one of the few daunting habits that bothered the blond to no end, but right now he didn't care much about it.

'I'm fine, other then the fact I just had to sit in detention with Weasel for an hour.' He scoffed, hoping his voice sounded more disgruntled then it did to his own ears; Pansy made a noise in disgust and he could clearly see her wrinkling her nose like she always did whenever Ron and his friends were around.

'I'm surprised they didn't suspend him; he could've broken your nose with that punch!' Draco only hummed in agreement, still unable to suppress the odd feelings rising in his gut every time the redhead's name came up, and the kiss instantly playing in his mind.

'…hey, you're not busy right now, are you?'

'No, I was just window shopping with a few friends, but we've disperse now,' she causally replied, before her tone turned slightly worrisome. 'Why? Is everything all right? That – jock didn't hurt you, did he?'

Draco shook his head out of habit as he spoke.

'No, I'm fine; can you – can you come to my place for a while?' The gasp on the other end showed she was clearly surprised; Draco hadn't once invited her to his home, even though he's been over to hers several times. Pansy spoke softly into the phone, the concern in her voice was so genuine he could've easily forgotten she was spoiled, proud teenage girl.

'Well, all right; I'm around the area anyways, so I'll see you there Draco.'

'I should be there in about 10 minutes. The servants will let you in and keep you entertained till I get there.' The girl replied with an affirmative hum, before hanging up the phone; Draco flipped his phone shut, staring blankly at the space in front of him before tossing it across the seat. He buried his face his in hands as he slumped back against the seat, sliding forward a little; why couldn't he get the kiss out of his mind.

_What the hell did he do to me?!_ He thought bitterly; of all people in the world none had ever riled his nerves as much as Ron did, but this was a new low even for him. Draco let out an aggravated sigh, cursing the redhead all the way to the manor.

**-- Chapter One --**


	2. Chapter 2 : Guilty Pleasures?

Woot

Woot! Chapter two is up and I swear I am working on the next chapter for "Come What Be" – and I've decided to re-read HP PoA again; perhaps that will inspire me to pick up Renee's second book again which I have been sorely neglecting …

Anyways – lonnnnnng flash back scene (well, by my standards, at least). Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a little muddled, so I may or may not re-write it later. Enjoy.

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature) for later chapters

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**-- Chapter Two : Guilty Pleasures? --**

Ron trudged his way up the neatly carved stone pathway, half running, half walking as the rain poured heavily down upon him. He wished he had taken Remus' advice and brought an umbrella with him, but his sense of better judgment decided not to work today. He felt a slight pang in his chest; obviously after kissing Draco his sense of "better judgment" clearly wasn't functioning at all today. He finally managed to reach to the front door and under some covering, although he highly doubt there was an inch left on his body that _wasn't_ soaked through. He barely raised a hand to knock on the door when it opened itself, a man with graying brown hair standing behind it, a towel in hand. Ron only grinned sheepishly at the man, scratching the back of his head.

'I know, I know – I should've listened.' Remus only sighed and shook his head, handing the redhead the towel, before stepping aside to let him in.

'You should probably leave your shoes at the front; I don't think Sirius will appreciate having puddles all over his house.' Remus suggested, taking his school bag from him and hung it up on the coat rack, watching the rain water drip from the soaked material to the floor. Ron only hummed as he dried as much of his hair as he could; last thing he wanted to do was cause trouble for Sirius since after all, the man was kind enough to let him stay here when he didn't want to go back home and face his family. A soft sigh escaped him as his thoughts traveled back to his family; this would be the third day he hasn't gone home, but his parents didn't seem to care.

The teen jumped slightly at the hand placed on his shoulder, glancing up at its owner with a startled expression. Remus had a warm expression on his face, giving him a light squeeze.

'Why don't you go upstairs and change into some drier clothing; I'll make you something warm to eat for a snack.' Ron stared at him for a few seconds before nodding his head; Remus watched the redhead shuffle his way up the stairs, before letting out a slight depressed sigh and headed towards the kitchen. He had a fairly good feeling he knew what Ron was thinking about right now; he hadn't gone home for three days and neither his mother or his father had called to ask if he was all right, or even demand that he return home this instant. It was rather troubling to a child to feel as if your own parents didn't care for your whereabouts.

Remus stood about the kitchen for a few minutes, deciding on what to make for Ron while the teen was changing; he decided that perhaps a nice, warm custard would do the trick and set about gathering the necessary utensils and compiling the ingredients required to make it.

**-8-**

Ron plopped himself down on the spare bed, tossing the damp towel to the floor as he sat cross legged on the soft, bouncy mattress. He listened to the rain splattering against the window, his thoughts wondering to the detention this afternoon; why had he kissed Malfoy like that. He put a hand to his chest, feeling the sharp pang of guilt coursing through his body as he thought about the kiss – he hadn't been chaste about it either, and to make matters worse, he almost wanted to do it again.

A loud sigh escaped him, before he laid his head down on the pillow, rolling on to his side as he tried to let the sounds of pitter-patter of the rain relax him and clear his mind. His mind would not rest though, as it began to wonder on to other equally depressing topics. How much longer did he have to keep avoiding his parents; with the way it's been like recently, he felt he might as well just pack up his stuff and move out. Ron sighed as he shifted to a more comfortable position, reaching his arm under his head.

His best friend's – Harry Potter – godfather, Sirius Black, had been more then sympathetic and understanding to his situation and offered his home as a hide a way. While Ron felt like he was imposing, Sirius didn't seem to care, saying countless times that he had camped out at Harry's father's house till he was old enough to find a place of his own. The teen hugged the pillow close to him; he was grateful that at least he had Sirius and Remus to talk to about his – preferences. He wished, though, that he could've gone to them earlier.

He had known for a long while about himself – every since a teacher caught him chasing after other boys while playing an innocent game of 'kiss, kiss chaste' when he was only about eleven or twelve. The teacher had taken him to the headmaster at the time, who had been surprisingly calm about it, and explained it the best he could to a twelve year old that what he was, was just a little different from "normal" people, but still very natural.

Ron shut his eyes tight against the slight tears that began to form; when he reached the age when most kids would start dating, he decided it was better to confess to his parents straight out, rather then have them discover by accident. He thought they'd understand; that they'd support him and tell him it was all right – his mother's distress, or his father's long standing silence weren't exactly what he was expecting.

_Ron stepped nervously into the small kitchen, finding both his parents were there, his father sitting at the small table with a newspaper in hand and a cup of tea aside of him. His mother was at the sink, washing the dishes from dinner earlier this evening, happily humming to herself as she worked. The young teen fiddled with his fingers, trying to gather up the courage to tell them, going over the words in his head before getting their attention._

'_Mum … dad … can – can I talk to you for a moment?' Ron asked timidly, both his parents looking up from what they were doing as they glanced at their youngest son. Molly paused her washing, drying her hands on the hand towel hanging on the rack near the sink, turning to him with a soft smile._

'_Is everything all right, dear?' Ron nodded his head, dropping his gaze to the floor still fiddling with his fingers._

'_Yeah, I just – need to tell you something.' Arthur folded up the newspaper he was reading, and placed it on the table, gesturing to the seat across from him. The young teen gulped, before walking over to take a seat across from his father, the elder Weasley giving him an encouraging smile. Molly took a seat next to her husband, watching her son carefully and with slight concern, hoping that Ron was not in any sort of trouble._

_Ron fidgeted in his seat, remaining silent for several minutes, before he finally opened his mouth and began to speak._

'_I – there's something, I h-have to tell you; thought it was best to say it rather then – then wait till later…' He began, now both parents gazing at him with slight concern; Molly and Arthur glanced at each other briefly, both silently agreeing that whatever their son was about to tell them, they would handle it calmly and be ready to give whatever advice they could. When Ron didn't say anything more, Molly gently encouraged him; her tone was soft and soothing._

'_It's all right dear, you know you can tell your father and I anything and we'll understand.' The redhead teen nodded his head, folding his hands across the top as he glanced up at his parents, his stomach churning as he spoke._

'_I … I'm gay…' He confessed; the silence that followed seemed to stretch on for hours, the shocked expression on his parents face was expected, but the words that followed after the silence hadn't been what he was hoping for._

'_I – I'm sorry, but what?' Molly asked, unsure if she had heard her son correctly; Ron tilted his gaze to the table, not daring to make eye contact as he spoke._

'_I'm gay, mum. I like other guys.' There wasn't a single word after that; Ron felt the churning in his stomach worsen, he was surprised he hadn't had the urge to throw up yet, or perhaps he wasn't that nervous yet. He risked a look up to see his mother running a hand frantically through her bright red hair, the look on her face was a mix between confusion, shock and … disappointment?_

_His father's face was completely blank and it unnerved Ron that he couldn't see what the man was thinking. Molly looked flustered between her son and her husband, her words coming out in a complete mess as she tried to find something to say. Finally her gaze rested on her husband, as if asking him to say something, but Arthur said nothing. Instead, he calmly stood up from his chair, picked up the cup he was drinking and tossed the unfinished tea into the sink, before placing the cup to be washed later. He gathered up his newspaper and left the room without so much as a word or a glance at his son, so he did not see the hurt expression come to his youngest features._

_Ron could only sit there in disbelief and hurt; his father just walked out without so much as a word or a glance at him and acted as if he had just suddenly become invisible. He looked to his mother, who was still sitting there with that mixed expression on her face and Ron felt his heart sink even more._

'…_mum, I…'_

'_It's just a phase … you're still young, Ron. Don't you think it's a tad bit too early to decide something like that so suddenly?' That hurt; Ron leaned over the table as he tried to suppress the tears that were forcing their way through, his voice coming out slightly shaken._

'_It's not a phase – this is – this is who I am; this isn't something I just randomly decided, I've always been like this! I'm gay, I like guys that's just – that's just my preference!'_

_Molly only shook her head; he couldn't have made such a decision like this – he had only barely become a teenager, he hadn't even had a date yet. Ron couldn't keep his tears back any longer; not wanting to shed them infront of his mother, he quickly stood up from the table and walked as fast as he could out of the kitchen without seeming like he was desperate and headed straight to his room. He threw himself on to the bed, burying his face in his arms as he finally let the gates open, the tears streaming down his face._

'…_I never should have said anything …' he choked bitterly to himself._

**-8-**

Remus softly knocked on the door, gently calling out to the teen; when he didn't receive a reply, he tested the handle to find it was unlocked, quietly pushing the door open. He glanced around the dim room, his eyes wondering to the bed where he found the redhead curled up and sound asleep. The fair haired man sighed, before quietly walking over to the bed and carefully sat on the edge; he could see from the expression on Ron's face, and the position he was in that the teen had probably cried himself to sleep. Remus sighed softly, before reaching a tender hand to brush aside flaming red hair from the young teen's face. As he stood up carefully from the bed, he thought to himself that he had been lucky to be blessed with parents who accepted him despite certain preferences; of course, Remus couldn't say he was completely gay. He had dated women before in the past as well as men till he finally decided to settle with the most unlikely person in the world.

A slight smile came to his lips as he stepped out of the spare room that Ron was staying in; he turned his attention to the sound of the front door shutting tight, hearing a familiar string of cursing that followed it. He shook his head; Sirius was home from work.

He made his way down the stairs to go greet the dark haired man, who was soaked from head to toe despite that he only had to walk five seconds between the drive way and the front door.

'Welcome back, Sirius.' Remus greeted in a cheery tone, but there was a slight smugness to him that made Sirius growl slightly, glaring slightly at the shorter man.

'Oh fine way to go ahead and jinx me, Moony – "Sirius, don't forget to bring an umbrella" –'

'"You're off your rocket, Remus – not a cloud in the sky" – I believe was the reply.' Remus causally replied and couldn't help but grin up at the other man as he scowled and wringed his long, straight dark hair of rain water. Sirius shrugged his wet coat off and went to hang it on the coat rack, noticing a familiar bag hanging on one of the hooks. His entire persona changed to a more serious tone, resuming with hanging his coat.

'Ah, I see he's here again.' Remus sighed, as he glanced up the stairs.

'Third day today, I believe. He's a bit depressed about it, so I think we'll have to talk to him later.' Sirius only hummed, sparing a glance out the window; he had never been close to his parents and even did everything to defile every order they gave him and act in every way opposite to what they believed. Perhaps that's what made it easier to run away; he had no bonds with his parents, and as far as he was concern, they had no bonds with him.

He closed his eyes as another sigh escaped him, before a wavering, delicious smell distracted him, turning to Remus with a small grin.

'Something smells awfully good; what're you making?' Remus laughed a little, before heading towards the kitchen.

'It was going to be for Ron, but since he fell asleep, I guess you can have it.'

'No point in wasting it; be a shame since you're a great cook, Rem.' Sirius moved to follow after Remus, but the shorter man put a hand against his chest, stopping him in his tracks, before pointing up to the stairs.

'First things first – dry clothing, then you can eat.' Sirius grumbled a little, but nodded his head, quickly reaching over to give a quick peck on the lighter hair man's cheek, then made his way upstairs. Remus only sighed contently, before heading on into the kitchen to take the custard out of the stove and placed it on the table; hopefully it would be cool enough to eat by the time Sirius changed and came back down.

The dark haired man wandered into the kitchen several minutes later, a towel around his neck as he dried his hair, and dressed in a plain white shirt and a pair of simple grey jeans. He gave an appreciative sniff as he sat down at the table, eyeing the custard hungrily as he waited on Remus to serve it.

'Oh, hadn't seen Harry anywhere in the house; he out somewhere?'

'He said he was going out with his girlfriend after school.' Remus replied; Sirius gave a flat 'oh', before taking the plate the other man handed to him, picking up his fork and began devouring the piece he had.

'Oh, her – what's her name again?' Remus only sighed and looked at him in slight annoyance.

'Her name is Cho Chang, remember?'

'Ah, right her – Cho.' He replied in a slight monotonic voice, lifting another piece to his mouth; Remus sighed and shook his head.

'At least memorise her name so you can _pretend_ to be happy for Harry.'

'Whatever…' came the expected reply. Remus gave up and went back to eating his own piece of custard. Sirius had made it plainly clear that he did not approve of the girl Harry was currently dating, but of course Remus had managed to keep him quiet about it so is not to upset his godson. Last thing the fair haired man needed was two stubborn, un-talkative and un-cooperative "kids" under the same roof.

**-- Chapter Two --**


	3. Chapter 3 : Escape?

Ha

Ha! Told ya I was working on it! :D The next chapter is finally here! For some reason this chapter gave me a really hard time to write . hopefully now things will go a lot smoother after this … erm, well … maybe not, now that I think about it I believe next chapter will start to live up to it's rating (mature audience only please).

Anyways – should not keep you waiting …

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature) for later chapters

* * *

-- **Chapter Three : Escape?** --

'You did – _what_?!' Hermione asked in disbelief; Ron groaned as he buried his face into his palms as he slumped against the table.

'It's not like I meant to…' Neither of his friends said anything, both Hermione and Harry staring in disbelief at their friend sitting across from them. The curly haired girl slammed her book closed, throwing it gently on to the table as she stared at the redhead with a crossed expression on her face.

'What do you mean you "didn't mean to"?! You know perfectly well that's not a valid excuse for kissing Malfoy!' Harry was about to open his mouth to put in a few words of his own, but Hermione cut him off, silencing him. She knew exactly what he was going to say, and it would not help the situation. Ron ran his fingers through his bangs, staring down at the table to avoid those accusing brown eyes the girl was giving him.

'How could you do something like that, Ron? You're dating Cedric – that's practically cheating!'

'Way to add to the guilt, Hermione; you think I don't feel bad enough about this already?' Ron groaned in frustration, burying his face in his arms on the table. Hermione's face softened a little, before slowly reaching out a hand to tap him on the arm to get him to look up at her.

'Hey, I'm sorry, but I just – I don't want anything to happen with your relationship with him.' The teen only gazed at her blankly for several minutes, before he let out a soft sigh, straightening himself out.

'I don't want anything to happen between me and Cedric either, but I just – I don't get it.' Hermione gently shushed him, offering him a small smile that the redhead couldn't help but return. Harry simply shrugged his shoulders, giving them both a causal smile; while he couldn't give much input on the situation, he had to admit, he was in the same boat as Hermione when it came to Ron and Cedric's relationship. He had never seen his best mate so happy since finding out that his preferences were slightly different from "normal" people. He had been hurt so many times in the past it was almost heart-warming to see Ron with someone who actually cared about him.

'Let's try this again – and I promise not to yell this time.' Hermione added, that last bit earning a bit of a laugh from both boys, before Ron tried to re-explain the best he could about yesterday's detention with Draco, and the fight they had when the professor had left the room.

'…Then all of sudden I just – I don't know – got excited, seeing him struggling like that. I didn't even realise I was kissing him till it happened.'

'Well, speaking from a bias opinion, you're a guy – a _teenage_ guy – you tend to get more excitable then girls. Plus since you two were – _fighting_,' the brief drop in her tone showed she didn't approve of Ron causing another fight while doing detention, but she would nag him about that later.

'Your adrenaline was probably racing and that tends to hype up your hormones.' Both boys only stared at her; as expected from the girl stereotyped as the "bookworm", she had the answers to everything logical. Ron only hummed as he scratched the back of his head – it made perfect sense if he looked at it that way, but what he didn't tell them, the part he knew would make the situation all the more worse – he wanted to kiss Malfoy again, and it was scaring him.

'Look, all I'm saying is – you're a guy, you tend to go with your hormones more then your brain. If you hadn't gone and punched Malfoy like that, you'd never had to do detention with him; then that _kiss_ would never have happened.'

'Hell, you know it's one thing if that git picks on me – but what he said about you –'

'Well, thank you for trying to defend my honour, but I can keep my temper better.' Hermione interrupted, giving the redhead teen a slight scowl as she recalled the first fight that originally landed Ron and Draco in detention in the first place. Ron only leaned his chin in his palm, glancing to the side as he shrugged.

'Whatever then; see if I stand up for you next time he goes mouthing off.' Hermione only huffed, reaching for her book again and opening it to the page she marked. Harry only sighed and shook his head as he stared between his two best friends; he knew Ron meant well, and he knew that way deep down Hermione appreciated him for defending her like that – even if it was in a way she disproved of.

'So – can we put this whole thing behind us now, or are you two still going?' Harry asked, half teasing half serious. Hermione whacked him on the head, Ron only shaking his head as he smiled at his friend. They moved on to other subjects to talk about, ranging from today's classes to simple plans of a possible get together for the up coming weekend; they had just gotten to discussing about up coming movies when a sweet honey voice from behind them averted their attentions.

'Good morning, Harry.' Harry instantly perked up, turning to face the dark haired girl walking towards them with a huge smile.

'Morning Cho.' He greeted; Cho smiled gently at him before leaning down to give him a light kiss on the lips, reaching her arms around his shoulders. Harry reached a hand for hers as he smiled up at her. Hermione cleared her throat rather loudly, getting both their attention, although she was not looking up from her book. Cho's face dropped when she seemed to notice both the curly haired girl and Ron sitting with her boyfriend.

'Oh – good morning Hermione – Ron.' She greeted flatly; Hermione muttered something close to a greeting, Ron simply nodding his head in response as he ducked his gaze down at the table. Even though it's only been half a year, he still had a hard time facing the older girl considering he was currently dating her _ex_-boyfriend.

'Harry, are you busy right now?' The older girl asked, turning to face him with a cheery smile on her face; Harry shook his head slowly, blinking up at her curiously.

'Just chatting – why?' Cho rested her chin on his head, reaching a hand to tangle her fingers through short, messy black hair.

'You asked me if I could help with your chemistry lab today, remember?' She reminded him; Harry made a small noise in acknowledgement, before reluctantly disengaging himself from her tender arms and gathered up his school stuff together.

'I'll see you guys in class – I need to get this lab done before chemistry later.' He added with a slight growl. Ron only nodded his head, waving a hand causally as the other teen stood up from his seat.

'Sure, no problem. Catch you in math.' Hermione didn't say anything, letting out a huge huff as she forcefully turned to the next page of her book. Harry waved over his shoulder, before taking Cho by the hand, walking them into the school building as they disappeared through the doors. Ron gazed at the doors for several minutes, before turning his attention to Hermione; the dark hair girl was glaring at the building behind her. He sighed and shook his head.

'Why don't you just tell him already?' She didn't say anything, but slammed her book shut and reached for her school bag sitting next to her on the bench and shoved the book in, pulling out another one.

'Tell him what? There's nothing to talk about!' She growled, slamming the book down on the table, before yanking it open. Ron rested his chin on his palm, shaking his head as he continued to stare at her with this knowing, nagging glance.

'Come on, Hermione – if you don't tell him, _I_ will.' He threatened; Hermione made a small noise of frustration thru her teeth, looking up from her book to narrow her eyes at him dangerously. The redhead didn't flinch, gazing at her steadily as they stared eye to eye, neither willing to blink or admit defeat. Finally, Hermione looked away, picking up her book in her hands as she buried her face in it.

'I don't have the slightest as to what you are talking about Ron. Now if you'll excuse, I need to study for my science environment class.' Ron let out a frustrated sigh, throwing his hand up in the air in slight defeat; while he may not know his friends' schedules as well as his own, he knew for a fact that Hermione did not have environmental science today. He also knew that literarily studies was their first class, since they were taking it together – that, and unless she suddenly learned how to read math upside down, he could tell the curly haired girl was hardly paying any attention to her book.

'Come on, Herm…'

'Argh! You can be so annoying sometimes!' Hermione nagged, slamming her book down, face open as she glared hard at the redhead sitting across from her. Ron only stared at her blankly; this wasn't the first time she's blown her top at him. He'd come to familiarize himself very well with the pattern of emotions the other girl went through, and decided to wait it out till she was at the stage of willing to listen to him.

'There's nothing to tell Harry! Why I should I go ahead and tell him when he's perfectly happy with – with _her_! Her and her shiny, straight, silky hair and _flawless_ skin and … and her perfect smile!' Her voice started to choke as her glared wavered, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes; now would be about the time that she'd finally stop hiding behind her walls and listen to him. Ron reached his hands out across the table to her, Hermione hesitantly taking them as he squeezed her hands tight.

'Hey, come on, don't cry – that's not the Hermione I know.' He soothed; Hermione pulled one hand back to wipe away at her tears before they could start, staring down at the table.

'I mean – look at her, Ron; she's pretty, smart and popular – she's any guy's dream and Harry, of all people, is dating _her_! Why'd he want to be with a train-tracked, frizzled hair bookworm like me?'

'Aw now, don't be so hard on yourself, Hermione. You can be pretty if you wanted to; remember when you straightened your hair for the End-of-the-Year dance last year? You had every guy practically eye-balling you.' He tried to assure; Hermione only frowned, dropping her head down lower as she burned an imaginary hole in the table.

'Yeah, big whoop – they haven't looked twice since then.' She spat out bitterly; Ron only sighed, gently shaking her hands. While Hermione was not quite as obsessive as most teen girls about her appearance, she still was just a teenage girl and did have a small self-consciousness about her presentation to other people. He knew that her braces were huge point of stress and concern for the brown-haired girl, hence her self given nickname "train-track".

'Hey, if they can't appreciate the girl underneath all these curls, then they're not worth having your attention. You'll see – Harry will come around sooner or later; he's just a being a huge idiot right now.' Ron said with a light hearted grin; Hermione laughed a little as she tilted her head up to gaze at him, a slight smile coming to her face. She squeezed his hands gently with hers, before pulling them back.

'Thanks, Ron. You're not too bad when it comes to making someone feel better.'

'Well, hell like I'd let a pretty little girl like you cry her eyes out.' She laughed and sighed at the response, before turning her attention to the book still lying flat out on the table.

'You know, for someone who prefers men, you really know how to make a girl feel special.' She teased; Ron only shrugged his shoulders, giving her a sheepish grin which made her giggle a little. Hermione stared down at her book, finally noticing that it was upside down, wondering outloud to herself at how long had it been like that. A huge, teasing grin came to the redhead's face as he told her since she first pulled the book out of her bag; the curly hair girl let out a slight groan as she buried her face in her palms, trying to hide the blush that spread across her face. Ron couldn't help but laugh, receiving a whack across the table from her, telling him to stop laughing. All too soon the bell rang for the first classes to begin, both of them gathering up their school bags and ran inside the building together and headed down to their literature class.

**-8-**

The first bell rang as a warning for students to get to their next classes, the shuffling sounds of shoes echoing down the hallway, only drowned out by the quick chatter of the students as they walked to their next classes. Draco trudged down the hall as he headed towards his chemistry class; he was really not in the mood for it today, knowing that he'd have to face a certain redhead, freckle faced teen for the first time since the day started. The blond groaned silently to himself; he wondered if he should just skip chem. class and hang around the art room till lunch time. Since it was professor Snape, he could easily just skip class and the man wouldn't even bat an eyelash at his absence.

_Shit! I really don't want to face that filthy low-life!_ Draco thought to himself; every since yesterday's detention with Ron he hadn't been able to settle the storming feelings that were raging in his stomach. He had called Pansy over to his mansion yesterday in hopes of flushing out those memories of that brief kiss, and the feelings it had been stirring since it happened. He couldn't get past a simple make-out with her before he realised he just couldn't pull any passion from it.

Draco growled before cursing outloud to himself, banging his fist against the wall next to him; the second bell rang signaling that class had started which left the hallways relatively empty aside from one or two late runners. Draco sighed, taking in several breathes to try and calm himself down before looking up at the door in front of him – he shook his head and buried his face in his palm. It seemed his subconscious mind made a decision for him and lead his body right to the art room for him; it seemed he would be skipping chemistry today.

He eased the door open carefully, glancing around the room relieved to see that it was empty; sometimes on the occasions he came here, there were one or two _actual_ art students working on their paintings or drawings. Draco closed the door shut behind him slowly, before walking towards the back corner of the room. He removed his bag from his shoulder as he slide gracefully into the stool positioned infront of the desk, reaching into it to pull out a spiral bound, plain covered sketch book and placed it gently on the table. He searched through the front pouch of his bag, pulling out a knead-able eraser and a pencil before dropping it to the floor.

Although he was not an art student, or taking any serious kinds of art classes, the art teacher, Professor Trelawney, was enthusiastic about his interests in the arts and allowed him use of the resources here whenever he needed it. While Draco would never consider her nothing more then a nutcase, he had to admit that she was still a damn good art teacher.

The sounds of thick, rough pages being opened slowly immediately brought a sense of calming to the blond; this was the only time he ever felt like himself, that he was free to be the person he wanted to be and express freely what he wanted to. He turned to a blank page of his sketch book, tapping the end of his pencil against his bottom lip as he thought of what to draw. Finally deciding to let his hand wander on its own, he placed the tip of the soft, thick lead to the surface and let it sketch lightly across the page.

If behind every rich, snobbish, bratty child laid a secret desire that their "society" of wealth would not allow, then having this sketch book was Draco's. It had always been his interest, ever since his family took a trip to Paris one time when he was little boy; he remembered being fascinated by the artists standing by the river's edge, or in the parks, a palette in hand and painting, or sketching the scenery around them. However, this expression of interest in art was quickly shot down by his father and immediately crushed before it even had a chance to grow.

The sketching stopped briefly, pale grey eyes staring blankly at the rough lines and outlines of what was beginning to look like a face. He had thought that dreams were nothing but a torture to one self; they could be crushed so easily and when taken away from you, left you feeling hollow and unfulfilled with yourself. A bitter smile came to delicate, pointed features as he remembered how his mother resurrected that dream and secretly hired a tutor to teach him how to draw. It was a time when his mother had still actually _cared_ about what he really wanted, and not what _she_ wanted for him.

Draco snapped his attention to the door, hearing footsteps walk by the classroom, but that was all they did. He let out a relieved sigh, assuming that it was probably some students with a free period or, like him, skipping class, before resuming with his sketching. Even though this was just a temporarily release from reality, he indulged every second of it, pushing away the nagging thoughts of the world he had to face the moment he stepped out of this room.

**-- ****Chapter Three**** --**


	4. Chapter 4 : Broken Hearts?

Okay – I have more! I should update this more often … eh – I think I mentioned that slash was coming soon … okay, I lied; it's not this chapter – it's next chapter …

Ron and Draco will encounter each other soon!! They're just … avoiding each other for the moment … (plus, it's only been a day since they kissed …)

Anyways – on to the chapter :D

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature) for later chapters

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**-- Chapter Four : Broken Hearts? --**

The second the final bell rang, he was out the door of the classroom, school bag in hand and racing down the hallways with the rest of the students as they began filing out of their classes. Ron stretched his arms over his head, letting out a contented sigh that school was finally over for the day. He strode down the hallway, briefly going over in his head of any pressing matters that needed attending to; thinking of none he shrugged causally to himself, a huge grin spreading across his face.

Hermione said she was doing a self study session once she got home, so there was no way the redhead would be able to drag the girl out for an outing around town. He vaguely remembered Harry mentioning something about spending after school with Cho, since apparently the rain yesterday had stalled their date. Ron didn't have track practice today, and while he loved it as a means of temporary escape, it was nice to just stop and walk at his own leisurely pace.

He just about reached the main entrance doors of the school when a familiar voice called out to him from among the crowd of students gently pushing their way past him.

'Ron – wait up!' Ron spun on his heels to see a girl with bright red hair and a heavily freckled face running to catch up with him. He frowned a little, before turning back around and quickly paced out the door. He made it half-way to the gate before he felt a firm hand grasp the strap of his shoulder bag, giving it a hard tug as she pulled him to a stop. The redhead turned a sulking glare to the teen girl behind him, her brown eyes staring up at him accusingly.

'What do you want, Ginny?' He asked; his little sister, Ginny, stomped her foot on the ground, not letting go of his bag incase he tried to run away from her again.

'I told you to wait! Honestly – you're such a brat sometimes!'

'Oy – big talk coming from my _little sister_.' Ginny let out a frustrated sigh as she yanked hard on his bag strap, making the older boy stumble a little as she tipped him off balance. Ron glared at her slightly, only to have the glare reflected back at him.

'So – what do you want?' The expression on her face suddenly softened, her grip going slight slack but she did not release him.

'Ron, when are you going to come home?' The question stung as if he had been slapped on the face; Ron turned his gaze away from her, staring down at the ground.

'Why?'

'Come back home, Ron. We miss you.'

'Define "_we_"; I know that certainly doesn't include mum and dad.' Ron gently smacked her hand away from his strap, before striding ahead towards the school gates; Ginny followed close on his heels, trapping his wrist with her hands as she yanked him to a stop.

'I know it doesn't seem like, but they _do_ miss you and are worried about you! Please come back home.' She pleaded softly; the older redhead gazed at sympathetically before shaking his head and sighed, firmly jerking his wrist from her hands.

'I don't think – I'm going back this time.'

'Ron – wait!' Ron put his hands over his ears, making the notion that he did not wish to hear any more from her, but Ginny was not about to back down. She followed him all the way to the open gates, nagging him for the whole short five seconds it took to get there, before he turned around to glare at her.

'Will you just leave me alone!? Get over it – mum and dad hate me; they're disgusted at what I am, so its better if I'm not there at all!'

'But _I_ don't care if you like guys! And you know Fred and George don't give a rat's ass if you're gay or not. So please – just come home, Ron. _I'm_ worried about you – doesn't that count for something?' He wanted to say something – anything to make this seem like it wasn't as worse as he was making it, but he couldn't find the words for it. Not all his family alienated him for his different preferences; Ginny was always there for him, stomping out rumors she'd pick up about him to make sure no one found out. The twins hadn't really minded, but they hadn't really supported him either, not that really bothered him. Bill and Charlie were surprisingly easy going about this, but they weren't even here, close to him; the closest he'd ever get to his two eldest brothers was by phone.

Ginny stared up at him with her large brown eyes, seeing the hurt behind them at the feeling that he didn't care about her feelings or the silent support him. Ron sighed before shaking his head, turning his back to her.

'Look, Ginny – I appreciate everything you've done, but I just – I think it's better if I stay away for a while.' _Maybe forever…_ He added that last part in his head; the younger girl reached a hand out for his shoulder, the frown on her face showing that she would remain stubborn to the end. They barely had a chance to argue it out more when a voice behind them interrupted them, turning their attentions to the guy standing behind them.

'Erm – is this a bad time?' Ron's face instantly lit up at the older boy standing behind them, giving him a tender smile.

'Cedric – what are you doing here?' He asked, slightly surprised; he would've thought that the young adult would have been in classes by now, considering he was in university. Cedric ran hand through his light sandy brown hair, as he smiled at the slightly shorter teen sheepishly.

'Thought I'd come see you since it's been a while the last time we met up.' Ron couldn't help but snicker, reaching a hand to brush aside stray strands of soft brown locks away from the handsome face.

'I saw you just two days ago; don't tell me you're that obsessed with me now?' Cedric laughed at the tease, gently batting away the hand playing with his hair. A rather loud cough from behind them dragged them out of their world, looking to the redhead girl frowning at the couple, arms crossed over her chest.

'Ah, hi Ginny; please – continue if it's important.'

'Tell Ron to come home, please. He hasn't been home for three days now!' She asked; Cedric glanced at Ron slightly surprised, the redhead boy avoiding his eyes as he glared at his younger sister.

'Bugger off, Ginny. He's got nothing to do with this!' Ron grabbed Cedric by the wrist, turning to face him with a determined stare.

'Did you ride your bike here?'

'Uh – well, yeah, I thought we could go for a ride, but –' The sandy hair boy began, but Ron cut him off, dragging him by the wrist towards the sleek black and red motorcycle parked on the curve of the sidewalk.

'Then let's go, love. There's nothing more I want to talk about with my baby sister.' Ginny made a noise of frustration; Cedric hesitated a little before something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He felt slightly panicked at the couple exiting the school building, quickly turning his back to them as he let Ron drag him over to the motorcycle.

'Sure, whatever you say Ron.' The redhead teen was slightly surprised by the other's willingness, but he wasn't about to argue his escape route. He strapped on the spare helmet the older boy handed to him, swinging his leg over the seat as he climbed on behind Cedric, taking hold of him tight around the waist. Cedric kicked the motor to life, pushing off the curve as they sped off, Ron waving over his shoulder as Ginny yelled after him.

Ginny stomped her foot on the ground hard as she watched her brother escape with his boyfriend, throwing her hands up in the air as she let out a aggravated growl.

'Is everything all right, Ginny?' The redhead girl spun on her heels coming face to face with Ron's best friend, Harry, standing arm and arm with his girlfriend, Cho Chang. Ginny realised now why Cedric had been so eager to run away; she let out a sigh before waving a hand causally in the air.

'Forget about it. Look, Harry – if you ever get the chance, please try and convince Ron to come back home.' The raven head only blinked at her, before hesitantly nodding his head, saying that he'd try to convince his best mate, but there were no guarantees for success. With that done, Ginny said her goodbyes, running a hand through her straight, red locks as she walked in the opposite direction for home. Harry sighed, adjusting the strap of his bag resting on his shoulder; if Ron had just ran off with Cedric, he probably wouldn't see the other teen till tomorrow for school.

'Hm – I thought he had looked familiar. He cut his hair.' Cho commented; Harry glanced at her, slightly surprised to see the bitter expression on her face. He bite down on his lower lip; although the rest of the school dismissed it as a "rumor", Cedric Diggory, former Hogwarts star track athlete, had "dumped" Cho Chang to date another guy instead. The raven hair teen remembered finding Cho weeping behind the school building, just underneath the lonely willow, where many students went to mope about when they were down. While she had long managed to move past the pain and accept that Cedric was in love with a guy, the bitterness of betrayal still lingered in the dark corners of her heart.

Harry gently jostled her arm, reaching a hand out to pulled her bangs away from her face.

'Hey, come on, we've got the whole afternoon ahead of us. Let's go do something fun so Sirius can hammer me for missing curfew again.' Cho giggled slightly as she turned to face him with a tender smile. Harry was not a prime pick as far as appearance or talents, but she had to admit his rather dorkish, frail look was charming in a certain way. She had dated a lot of guys in the past and most of them turned out to be jerks or egotists; Cedric had been the first who treated her kindly and actually respected her. Harry was sweet in his own way, and while he wasn't quite as aware as Cedric had been, he tried to put her feelings before his and that to Cho was what really struck her in a good way.

'I'm sorry; I keep forgetting your guardian thinks you're twelve or something.' Harry only laughed as he reached over to give her a light peck on the cheek, letting his arm slide out of hers to take her hand, as he began walking them out the gates.

'I'm sure he'll understand. Besides, I still own you a date since the rain prevented that yesterday.' Cho smiled sweetly as she reached her free hand to hold his arm.

'You make a much better boyfriend then Cedric did.' Harry couldn't help but still feel amazed at that out of all the guys in school, she chose to date him and actually mean it. Neither of them seemed to notice the presence behind them as they walked merrily along their way, not sensing the seeping pain or sorrow pouring out from the girl that was standing behind them.

Hermione hugged the books tight against her chest, watching as Harry and Cho disappeared around the corner of the gates. She had wanted to call out to Harry, just to say goodbye of course, but she couldn't find her voice when he had reached his hand out for the older girl's face. Hermione shook her head clear before marching off in the opposite direction of the couple; she bit down on her lower lip to keep herself from crying at the welling pain building up in her heart.

_Why do all the nice guys get taken by popular ones!_ She thought to herself as her paced quickened. She wasn't sure if Harry still remembered or not, but when they had been about thirteen years old, he had saved – well, attempted to – her from a group of older kids who had been bullying her. Hermione had always been viewed as a social outcast due to her lack of social initiative, so she had sought her comfort in books. It wasn't uncommon for the other kids to pick fun at her, or try to steal her books and vandalize them and leave them for her to find later. That one time had been particularly bad; it was one of her all time favorite books and she had refused to let it go, even when the older kids started pulling at her hair, she dealt with the pain and clung to the book with her dear life. Then out of nowhere, one of them was hit on the side with a backpack and there stood a boy with large round glasses, messy black hair and bright green eyes glaring at them, demanding that they let her go.

Hermione stopped walking as she gazed down at the sidewalk; Harry almost ended up with a broken arm because he stood up for her. She groaned slightly in embarrassment remembering that she had cried so hard after the bullies left, not because she was upset, but because she was happy; no one had ever stood up for her before and she suspected that it was from then on that she held this admiration for Harry.

Teary brown eyes stared up at the clear blue sky above her, watching the white, fluffy clouds glide over the sun; since when did her "admiration" turn into something more for the dark haired teen. A soft sigh escaped her lips, before she turned her gaze away from the sky and continued on walking home; she was beginning to wish she hadn't told Ron she was going to self study today – she could really use some cheering up right now, and no one could that better then him.

**-- ****Chapter Four**** --**

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Hm – nothing much to say here today… sorry… well, except that next chapter will start to live up to its rating … gosh, wonder if I can do it . It's been a long time since I've written a sex scene … I might be rusty Xx


	5. Chapter 5 : Memory of a Kiss?

Okay – this has taken waay to long to update – mostly because I got a bit stuck on this… Fair warning to all…

**!! THERE IS MALE ON MALE SEX IN THIS CHAPTER !!**

**!!** If reading about two guys getting it on with each other bothers, turn around right now, and come back at chapter 6 (which hopefully won't have any sex in it… at the present moment) if you wish to continue reading out of curiosity. I will not be pegged or tolerate those who ignore blunt warnings… RTFW

**Warnings: **Again – chapter _**does**_ contain _**sexual content**_! Read at own risk! AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature)

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**-- Chapter Five : Memory of a Kiss? --**

'Finally – this day is almost over!' Ron exhausted as he collapsed face first on to the bed closest to the left side of the room. Cedric only smiled after him, shaking his head as he closed the door behind him, making his way over to sit on the edge of the bed aside of the younger teen. He placed a tender hand on the redhead's shoulder, leaning down to give him a gentle nip on the ear; Ron squirmed a little, shrugging his shoulder in an attempt to brush off the other boy off his ear.

'Hey – you all right, Ron?' Cedric whispered softly in his ear, sending a shiver down the shorter teen's spine as Ron worked to suppress a moan.

'Yeah, just had a bit of a rough day is all.' He answered, slowly turning his head to glance into dim grey eyes staring at him with slight concern. Ron reached a hand around the older teen's neck, bringing his face close with his as he captured firm pink lips in a kiss; Cedric wrapped his arm around the smaller waist, bringing their bodies closer together as he gently prodded his tongue along Ron's lips. The redhead opened his mouth to let him in, meeting halfway with his own tongue and let out a low moan. They danced with their tongues for a few moments, before Cedric pulled back, smiling down at Ron as he caressed his face lovingly.

'Guess you're all right – you got in the mood pretty quick.' Ron pouted at him playfully, reaching his other hand to tangle his fingers in light, sandy brown hair.

'Oh sure, leave me hanging after all that; some boyfriend you are.' Ron teased; Cedric only snickered at him, before nudging him to move over a little, laying himself next to the redhead as he propped his head up on one arm, the other still wrapped loosely around his lover's waist. Ron snuggled up to him, resting his head against the lean chest and sighing contently at the steady thumping of the heart beat in his ear.

'So – what did you sister mean by earlier? About you not going home for three days?' Cedric asked seriously, a hint of concern in his tone made Ron tense a little at the question. The younger teen did not answer him, closing his eyes as he tried not to think about the argument he had with his sister not too long ago. Home was getting to the point where he wasn't even sure he could call it home anymore; his father hadn't said a word to him since that night two years ago – fact of the matter, the senior Weasley acted as if he didn't exist. His mother couldn't talk to him eye to eye, of what little talking she did say to him, and most of the time it was simple, almost apathetic words. A tight knot welded itself in Ron's chest, making his limbs suddenly feel heavy; he pushed himself up with his arms, rolling himself on top of Cedric before the older teen could say anything, starlight blue eyes gazing at him steadily. He didn't want to think about these painful things – not when he was with his primary source of happiness and warm.

'Its fine, love. Please don't worry about it.'

'But, Ron –'

'Shh – it's okay; it's my family, so my problems – I can handle it, Cedric. There's no need to adding any extra burden for you.' Ron urged softly, placing a gentle finger to the other's lips to stop him from protesting anymore. He brushed aside soft, brown bangs from the handsome face, leaning to grab a quick kiss from his lover's lips, pulling back and hovering an inch away from Cedric's face.

'You sure, Ron? I mean, if you're not going home for three days – I mean, where are you staying then?'

'I've got it covered; friend's guardian is letting me crash at their place when I need to. Now come on, let's just drop the subject – I don't want to spoil the mood.' Cedric barely had time to reply when the redhead meshed their mouths together, reaching a hand for his to entangle their fingers together; Ron used the surprise to his advantage, quickly delving his tongue into Cedric's mouth as he coaxed the other to respond. An involuntary moan escaped the older teen, reaching out his tongue to meet with the shorter boy's as he fought lightly for dominance. Ron struggled a little out of habit, before relaxing and letting the other teen invade his mouth, feeling a strong hand reach to undo the buttons of his school uniform shirt.

The need for air forced them apart from the kiss, both breathing slightly heavily; Ron tugged at the hem of the cotton printed tee Cedric was wearing, the older teen reaching to pull it off over his head before unbuttoning the rest of the redhead's shirt, sliding it off his shoulders. Ron tossed his uniform shirt carelessly to the floor before leaning down to run his lips long the strong, prominent jaw line, feeling Cedric's hands gently cup his rear. He barely got to the nape of the neck, when the slightly shorter teen felt the sandy haired teen's fingers lace through his red locks, gently tugging his head up. Ron gazed at him curiously, his eyes half glazed with growing lust; a pink flush spread across Cedric's face at the look, glancing to the side as his words came out a little shaken and nervous.

'I, um, I know I'm n-not good at it yet, but d-do you mind if – if I, um…' Ron smirked at him adoringly; he absolutely loved the shy and innocent nature of the other teen's personality – it was just one of those things that was opposite to the image the older boy presented.

'You want to, what, love? There are a lot of things you could do to me, you know.' Ron teased, seeing the flush darken on defined cheekbones; Cedric remained silent for a long while that Ron wondered if he had changed his mind, when the older teen pushed himself up, wrapping his arms tight around the small waist. Ron bit down on his lip to keep from groaning at the feel of the growing hard-on pressed against him, forcing every fiber in his body to keep from rubbing their bodies together. Cedric buried his face against the broad shoulder, his voice muffled against the fevering rose-blush skin; Ron grinned at the muffled request, reluctantly pushing himself off the other's lap before patting the taller teen on the head.

'You want to suck me off, is what you're trying to say, right?' The blush on Cedric's face went impossibly deep red, a low chuckle rumbling from the redhead's chest. Cedric had been rather shocked at how bold Ron was when it came to intimacy; the young redhead's knowledge of sex and intercourse greatly out stripped anything the light haired teen knew, which was not much. He vaguely knew how it worked between a guy and a girl, but other then general guesses, he was pretty much clueless on the little details; he and Cho had never really had any interest in sex, since it was something neither of them wanted in their relationship.

The tug at his neck jumped Cedric from his thoughts, yanking his eyes to the teen sitting in front of him, a sly grin on his face. Ron combed his fingers through light brown hair playfully, leaning back on his arm.

'My dick's not gonna stimulate itself, you know.' Cedric only stumbled with his words, before he hesitantly reached to unclasp the buckle of Ron's belt. If there was one thing he'd never get use to, it was the sudden change the redhead went through whenever he was put into the mood; though, instead of feeling intimidated by this bold, sly, almost cruel personality, he felt even more drawn in.

The clasp undone, he eased the zipper down slowly before hesitantly reaching his hand down the other's boxers; Ron bit back a moan at the feel of Cedric's hand on his harden member, petting him encouragingly on the head. Nervous grey eyes stared up at him apprehensively, gentle hands grasping the side of his chin.

'Hey – it doesn't matter the skills or technique at this point, just do what you think would make me feel good.' Cedric only flushed, staring up at the redhead nervously; it was slightly embarrassing being advised by someone at least three years his junior in the field of intimacy. He took a tentative hold of the blood-filled organ, feeling a slight shudder from the redhead as his breath tickled the head.

'If it helps – just think of it as if you were licking a popsicle or a lollipop of some sort.'

'… oh great, now I'll never be able to look at those properly.' Ron only laughed at the response, the hand on his lover's head gently urging him to lower his mouth; Cedric hesitated a moment, before tentatively running his tongue along the tip of the pulsing cock in his hand. Ron groaned inwardly, his hand tangling through sandy brown locks as he encouraged the older boy to continue; feeling more confident, Cedric licked down the under side of blood-engorged organ, letting his eyes fall half shut as he relaxed a little. Ron leaned back on his arm, tossing his head back as a moan escaped him, tugging on short, brown locks to keep the other teen going. The older teen pulled back slightly, a loud whimper slipping from the redhead's lips before he could stop it, before his breathe hitched as Ron felt the other take him slowly in his mouth.

'…Shi –!' Ron gasped out, tightening his grip on the other teen's hair as Cedric took him deeper into his mouth without gagging; it was taking what little will power Ron had left to not buck his hips forward when his light haired lover began slowly suckling his cock, grabbing a handful of bed sheets with his free hand, the other tangled and twisted in light brown locks. When he felt too close to the edge, Ron tugged at his head firmly, but the other didn't seem to want to let him go.

'Ah – wa-wait – nh! Ced-Cedric…' Cedric couldn't help but feel his spirit soar at the sounds his redhead lover was making; of all the countless times Ron had made him feel more then just good, it was almost gratifying to be able to satisfy the other teen despite his lack of practice and skill. The tugging on his hair became more urgent, harder.

'Fuck, Ced! I-I'm about –' He bit down gently and Ron couldn't hold himself back, letting out a shuddered groan as he spilled himself into the other's mouth; Cedric gagged at the sudden wave, pulling back as the cum dripped from his mouth and splattered on his face.

'S-Shit! I'm sorry, I didn't – I mean, I couldn't –' He felt a hand grasp by the chin, tenderly lifting his head to face glazed over blue eyes staring at him with heated lust; Ron brought Cedric's face close to his, reaching his tongue out to lick away his cum from the other teen's face. An impossibly red flush spread across the sandy haired teen's face, and Ron was sure he could feel the heat of embarrassment radiate from him as he cleaned him with his tongue. The redhead licked his lips before leaning into capture his lover's mouth with his, delving his tongue while the other was caught off guard; Cedric moaned at the mingling taste of light peppermint and the shorter teen's own taste, feeling Ron pushed him to sit back on his heels as the redhead climbed onto his lap. The friction between them reminded the university student of the painfully constriction in his own pants.

'You did pretty well for a first time; as for swallowing, well – no one can do it the first time. It's okay, I choked the first time I did it too.' Ron assured him, looping his arms around the slender neck; Cedric glanced to the side embarrassed, his hands wandering on their own as they found their way down the other's pants, softly groping his rear. Ron only smirked at him, his hand wondering down the older boy's chest till his fingers got a nipple, tenderly rolling it with his fingers till it was erect.

'The rest of the clothes have to come off, before we can do anything else love.' Cedric didn't say anything, watching half dazed as Ron pushed himself off his lap, sliding his dark uniform pants off along with his boxers. He tossed them aside aimlessly, reaching his hands to undo the zipper of his lover's own pants, seeing that Cedric seemed too faze to do it himself. The sandy haired boy seemed to jolt back to reality at the feel of his pants being tugged down his hips; Cedric helped wriggle them off, letting Ron drop them wherever on to the floor, leaning forward in one smooth motion to capture full, rosy lips in a searing kiss. The redhead was caught slightly off guard by the sudden motion, before letting his eyes fall shut, pressing his body against the lean frame, both groaning at the feel of the other's bare skin against each other. Cedric groped blindly at the side drawer by his bed, his restless fingers finally gripping around the small tube they were searching for.

Without breaking the kiss, he uncapped it, squeezing out a generous amount of gel on to his fingers, before letting it drop from his hands, not bothering if it landed on the bed, or fell off the edge to the floor. He slid his finger in between Ron's butt cheeks, gently caressing the rim around his anus; Ron shivered at the feeling, trying to push himself back against the inviting finger, but the older teen's other hand was holding him place.

Cedric eased one finger into the opening, Ron pulling back from the kiss as he let out a loud gasp, reaching his arms to grip the other under the arms. He eased a second finger in after a few minutes, Ron mewing softly with pleasure and lust as he probed and shifted his fingers inside the redhead. He nipped along the shorter teen's nape as he added a third finger, Ron pushing against him as his mews got louder, more urgent sounding.

'Ah … Ced … p-put it in…nh – please…' Cedric slowly removed his fingers, Ron groaning miserably at the lost of contact as he felt strong, lean hands on his hips, steadily guiding him over the tip of the leaking cock beneath him. Cedric pressed the tip of his harden member against Ron's entrance, the redhead tensing a moment, before relaxing his body as he lowered himself with the other's guidance. He didn't stop till he felt the base of his lover's cock, both holding still while they waited till Ron was use to the feeling of having Cedric inside of him.

'… move…' Ron panted desperately in his ear; Cedric hesitated a moment, before he carefully pulled out, pushing back slowly as he wrapped his arms around the smaller waist. Ron held on to him tight as he did it a second time, gently tugging at the sandy haired teen's earlobe.

'Move faster…' Cedric shuddered at the whispered breathe against his ear, compiling with the request as he began to build a faster, steadier pace; Ron bucked his hips to match his rhythm, burying his face against the other's shoulder to muffle his moans and gasps as his light haired lover got closer and closer to that spot. He bit down on Cedric's shoulder as he felt a hot surge course through him as he felt that spot be hit, the older boy wincing slightly as he continued to push against that spot.

Ron couldn't keep his voice quiet, short cut nails digging into slightly tanned skin as the feeling soared higher and higher to the point his vision was almost white. He faintly felt his body clamp down around Cedric's pulsing cock, tossing his head back as he let out a staggered cry as he came for a second time. Cedric kept pushing even as he felt the other's body squeeze tight around him, burying his face against Ron's shoulder as his body shuddered in release, gritting his teeth as the fevered high began to cool.

They simply sat in each other's embrace, silently basking in the afterglow of the climax as they tried to regain steady breathing, feeling their heartbeats slow back to a steadier pace. Cedric lifted his face from Ron's shoulder, staring lovingly into light starling blue eyes gazing back at him with a tender smile.

'You all right, Ron?'

'Are you going to keep asking me that every time we're done making love?' Ron teased lightly, a warm blush flashing across the other's nose as he gentle nuzzled his neck.

'It's just – I don't want to hurt you when we – do this.' A soft expression came to the freckled face, Ron pushing himself off the older teen, grimacing at the sticky feeling as they pulled apart. This was what made Cedric different from the other guys he had dated in the past – Cedric actually _cared_ about him; Cedric was worried about him, he always did little things – leave notes, small gifts, or even simple flowers – that showed he loved him. It was the one thing Ron wanted more then anything in the world – to have someone who loved him and would protect him at any cost. Startling bright blue eyes gazed at the sandy haired teen dreamily, the soft, innocent smile on his face was a complete contrast to the sly, seductive grins he was showing only minutes ago.

'Well don't worry about it, love. Nothing you do could ever hurt me, I know you wouldn't do it on purpose.' Cedric only smiled back at him, reaching a hand to cup his face before leaning in to give him a light peck on the mouth.

'We should – probably go wash up.'

'Always a good idea.' Cedric stood up from the bed, going over to the closet set on his side of the room, opening it up as he reached into pull out some towels and his bath supplies out. He handed a towel to Ron, the redhead wrapping it around his waist, as he followed after the other teen to the commune bathroom just across the hall; the only down side to living in a dorm room, no private commodities. Thankfully, the bathroom was empty, allowing both boys to have some privacy while they washed; it took nearly an hour to finish washing up as Ron had decided to use the emptiness as ideas flooded his mind. When they got back to the room, the sun was getting ready to set, the sky had turned from grey blue to orange. Cedric reached into his closet again, pulling out a set of clothing, and pulling out a spare pair for Ron, tossing them to the redhead sitting on his bed.

Once they were fully dressed, Ron stretched his arms above his head, falling back against the pillow as he let out a contented sigh; Cedric made his way over to the bed, laying himself down next to the younger teen, wrapping an arm tenderly around his waist. The redhead turned his gaze to the handsome face, reaching a hand out to brush back to the short strands of brown hair away from dim grey eyes.

'So – you're going to stay the night?' Cedric asked hastily; Ron only smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

'Not sure if your roommate will react well seeing you snogging another guy.'

'Ah, well – he's going to be staying with his girlfriend tonight; and – I think he's kind of figured out I have a boyfriend…'

'Oh? Why do you say that?' Cedric scratched the back of his head as he turned his gaze to the ceiling.

'Well – I sort of slipped; I said I was seeing someone already when he was trying to encourage me to date someone. Thing is – I already told him I didn't have a girlfriend, so – I think he kind of clicked two and two together.' Ron chuckled softly as he snuggled up to his boyfriend, burying his face against the other's chest; Cedric held him tight in his arms, pulling their bodies closer as he took in the scent of the honey lemon smell of the shampoo lingering the flaming red locks.

'So – we pretty much have the whole room to ourselves tonight.'

'Y-yeah, but well – it wasn't really just coincidence.' Ron blinked puzzling, tilting up his gaze to blink at the light haired teen.

'Something going on?'

'Ah well – that's why I came to pick you up today. Ron – I'm leaving tomorrow night along with a few others for the InterContinental Competition.'

'InterCont – Cedric, that's like – _the_ ultimate sports competition!' Ron sputtered out, shocked enough that he actually sat up, staring down at his lover with wide eyes. Cedric blushed slightly as he gently pulled Ron back down by his side, resting his chin on the younger teen's head.

'I know, it's a pretty big thing – I'm a little nervous since it's my first actually competing against actual athletes, but – Ron, this lasts for a week; I won't be able to see you for that time.' Ron felt a slight stab at his chest – he would not be able to see Cedric for a week? He could see why the older boy had decided to come see him; the redhead snuggled his face against the other's chest, cuddling him in his arms as if he were a big teddy bear. Cedric glanced at him curiously, gently petting his hair.

'Ron?'

'Nuuh – let's just enjoy this then; since we do after all have the whole room to ourselves, let's make the best of this till you have to leave tomorrow night.' Cedric only smiled gently down at him, giving his lover a tender rain of kisses on the crown of his head. Ron sighed as he smiled contently; it would be a little rough not being able to see his boyfriend for a week, but he had good friends around him – it would hopefully be enough to keep him from falling apart till Cedric came back. A sharp pang of guilt struck him in the chest as his thoughts wandered to the kiss with Draco in detention, quickly expelling the thought from his mind. He was with Cedric, who he loved with all his heart, he shouldn't be thinking about that impulsive action – so why was he feeling his heartbeat race slightly at the memory of the kiss he shared with Malfoy.

**-- Chapter Five --**

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Blah – I'm so out of practice with writing sex scenes, so sorry if it's kinda lousy… Hopefully I'll be able to write these type of scenes more easily now, since there will be one or two more after this, definitely.

More to come soon – thank you for reading (Reviews are always nice too ;p feed the ego! X3 )


	6. Chapter 6 : Why Didn't I?

Yes, yes – really sorry this took forever to get out, I'm lazy and a slacker, but I will hopefully pick that up… and maybe (and that's a HUGE maybe) I'll have a new story up (and hopefully won't be completely AU… since all my ideas seem to end up that way ), but no promises yet…

Anyways – onwards!

**Warnings: **This chapter _**does**_ contain _**sexual content**_! Which is why it took me so damn long to update! Read at own risk! AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature)

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**-- Chapter Six: Why Didn't I? --**

Pulling his hair in front of his eyes wasn't working; neither was pretending to be massaging his forehead to cover his view of a certain redheaded jock sitting in front of him. Draco groaned silently as he sent imaginary daggers at the boy's back in front; he still hadn't been able to expel the kiss from his mind, and the feelings that kept arising in him were beginning to slowly drive him insane. While all that of course annoyed him, the redhead's behavior – or lack thereof, per say – hadn't changed at all since their detention last week. Why wasn't Ron affected at all by the kiss? Did he decide to just promptly forget it and not give it another thought, or did he just simply pass it off as a meaningless impulse? Draco slumped forward in his seat, raking his fingers through his silken silver locks in frustration; he really wished the redhead hadn't sat down in front of him – he had a hard enough time concentrating on History as it was.

Ron, however, sat oblivious to the blond's internal struggle as he was facing with his own dilemmas; the competition Cedric had gone to was delayed by several days due to an unexpected storm, so the sandy-haired teen was away longer then predicted. While he didn't want to sound like some clingy, over-protective girlfriend, he really missed his lanky lover. Ron sighed as he began scribbling along the margin of his notebook; his mind was beginning to wander to more questionable thoughts at which he quickly dispelled. Last thing he really wanted was to end up with a boner during class just because he was thinking of his boyfriend. He tapped the end of his pen against his note book, trying to distract his mind with other things; he thought about the upcoming weekend he'd be spending with Harry and Hermione. Hopefully Harry wouldn't flake out on them this time to spend time with his girlfriend instead; Ron was getting tired of Harry's insensitive to Hermione's feelings, so he made up a small plan to get the two of them alone and hope that something would come of it. Course, Hermione had to play a part of it too; if she wasn't willing to admit how she felt about the dark-haired teen then there wasn't much he could about it.

'Ow…' Ron flinched as something hit the back of his head; he glanced over his shoulder to see a certain pointed face blond glaring at him. The redhead narrowed his eyes at him, silently growling at the other teen, before eyeing the folded piece of paper the other was holding out to him. Ron hesitated a moment, before taking the note glancing with a questioning glare at the blond, but Draco had promptly buried his eyes into his notebook; whether he was scribbling down useless notes or just scribbling Ron couldn't tell, nor did he care. He ducked his hands under the desk, quickly glancing up to the front of the classroom to see the professor hadn't noticed the quick exchange (actually, he hadn't even noticed that half his class was asleep). Ron unfolded the letter, skimming over the short, neatly written note:

_After school – on the rooftop_

Starlight blue eyes gazed blankly at the note; it was obvious – Draco wanted to fight him. A small smirk came to his face – he wasn't sure if he should consider the other teen brave or stupid for starting something he didn't have a chance at winning. Ron pocketed the note, keeping it for evidence later in case the blond tried to blame him for harassment, since he asked to meet in the first place. Even though it wasn't right of him to think so, he really needed a distraction right now, and even if it wasn't going to be a fair fight it was still something to do.

**-8-**

Draco paced around the deck of the roof, occasionally glancing up at the sky as the clouds past over the sun; the second the final bell had rung he snuck his way up to the roof top. It was restricted for students to come up here, so it was usually devoided of students. Sharp grey eyes stared intently at the door that lead up to this open area; the feelings that had been gnawing at him for the past week were becoming unbearable, and he was going to get an answer from the redhead no matter what. He wasn't sure why, but all his brain could think was that it was all Ron's fault for this confusion.

_That's right – he was the one who kissed me out of the blue! It's his bloody fault for messing with my head!_

Draco thought to himself; his pacing hastened, striding across the open deck back and forth as he waited for the redhead to show up. He pulled his sleeve back to expose his wrist-watch, seeing that so far only five minutes have gone by. He wasn't sure what kind of answer he was looking for – actually, rationally speaking, he wasn't even sure if the other teen would even _have_ an answer for him, but his irrational state was demanding something. Draco raked his hands through his silken silver hair, letting out a frustrated growl, pausing his pacing momentarily.

'Always making people bloody wait so long…' He muttered outloud to himself.

'All your note said was to meet up here – if there was a specific time, then fucking say so!' Draco jumped a mile out of his skin at the voice behind him, spinning around on his heels to face the redhead standing behind him; Ron leaned against the frame of the door, his school bag slung over his shoulder and a blank expression on his face. A slight flush spread across the pale, pointed face, Draco narrowing his eyes at the taller teen standing in front of him.

'You – you think you're going to get away so easily for what you did, weasel?' Draco spat, not once dropping his glare. Ron only stared at him before moving away from the door; he let his bag slide off his shoulder and dropped to the ground as he stepped towards the blond. Draco subconsciously took a step back before catching himself and stood where he was.

'Geeze – haven't even started yet and already you're blaming me? You certainly plan ahead, don't you Malfoy.' Draco only gave him a puzzled glare, crossing his arms.

'Don't get cocky – you know perfectly well what I'm talking about!'

'You can bloody well complain _after_ the first punch.' Ron said as he cracked his knuckles; a mix between appalled and fear crossed Draco's face, dropping his arms to his side as he began stepping backwards.

'N-now just a minute! I'm talking about that ki –' He barely finished his sentence when a fist struck him across the jaw; Draco stumbled backwards, wincing as he put a hand on his jaw.

'_Fuck!_ That hurt!' He cursed, half-closed grey eyes glaring partial at the taller teen smirking down at him.

'I'm just warming up – it's gonna get a lot more painful, trust me.' Ron lunged at him, Draco only just barely managing to dodge out of the way of the hit. Ron stumbled forward a little, before quickly rebounding and managed to land a hit on the other's left shoulder. Draco tumbled backwards landing on his behind, holding his hand over his shoulder as he bit down on his lip to keep from crying out in pain. Tearing grey glared up hard blue eyes, grinning cockily down at him; his rational side was beginning to break through as Draco slowly realised that he was never going to find an answer to the unknown feelings that the other had caused him. Ron certainly hadn't given the kiss another thought since then, or Draco would've suspected that the redhead would've avoided him more then usual.

'That's it? Two punches and already you're a crippling heap.' Draco growled at the taunt, and while he wanted to attempt and hit the other back, he knew the redhead would just strike him down again. He glanced behind him noticing just how close Ron's school bag was in reach. Without second thought, Draco quickly dived for the strap of the bag, and swung it with one swift motion at the other teen looming in front of him. The hard-covered textbooks, paper-backs and the miscellaneous supplies Ron carried in his bag hit him hard on the side, the redhead caught off guard by the sudden action that he didn't react fast enough. Ron made a small noise, holding an arm around his waist; even with daily track and weight training, having a bunch of books hit him on his tender side still hurt.

'Shit! You –' He didn't get a chance to throw out an insult when Draco swung the bag at his feet, using the moment of weakness to knock the redhead to the ground. Ron tumbled on his side, grimacing as the rough concrete skidded his skin. Draco released the strap, quickly scurrying to his feet and headed towards the door; he knew he didn't have a chance of coming out in one piece if this fight continued and he stupidly decided to call the redhead alone, and to where there was no one to step in and stop them.

He had barely gotten three steps when a hand grabbed him roughly by the wrist, jerking him to a stop; Draco spun around just as the redhead raised a fist in the air, and by some miracle prayer, managed to catch the other's wrist before Ron's knuckles could reach his face. The two teen boys grappled with each other, trying to pull away from the other's tight hold as they struggled over dominance; somewhere amidst their struggle, Draco placed his foot wrong, knocking the redhead off balance, as Ron began to fall forward. The blond stumbled backwards, landing flat on his back as the other teen fell on top of him, both wincing slightly at the tumble; Ron recovered faster then Draco did, quickly yanking his wrist out of the blond's hold, the grabbed both pale, slender wrists and held them above the small teen.

Draco groaned slightly in pain, waiting till the haziness cleared up before trying to move his hands; he panicked slightly when he realised his hands were restricted. He tried bucking his hips to throw the redhead off, but he barely had the strength to even bump him lightly. Ron was grinning down at him cruelly, Draco attempting to twist his torso, wriggling his hands in hopes of releasing them, but it seemed the redhead had him securely trapped.

_Shit!_ The panic turned into fear; he had been lucky if he came out with his face unmarked. Draco let out a frustrated cry as he lifted his hips harder; he didn't care for his pride, or for his dignity right now – there was no one here to see this, he could for once be as shameful or pathetic as he wanted to be, he just did not want to be pinned and trapped by Ron Weasley of all people in the world. The blond suddenly froze, his eyes staring wide open as a different fear took over him; his heartbeat was racing in his ear, he was sure his face was flushed red and his breathing was heavy – but it wasn't because of over exertion. Draco didn't dare move a muscle as he realised that his body was reacting in a rather – different way to the situation of being pinned by the redhead. If Ron had been a girl, the whole thing would've made sense, but he wasn't; he bit down on his lip, and viciously hoped that the other would not noticed the swelling heat rising in his lower region.

Starlight blue eyes gazed curiously at the blond; he had suddenly stopped struggling. Ron leaned down close to the other's face, Draco flinching away as he hovered just barely an inch away from the pointed face.

'What's wrong? Give up already?' Draco shivered at the warm breath against his cheek, but instead of chilling his blood, it just seemed to intensify the heat, the feelings he had been fighting with for the past week doubling in power.

Ron blinked questionably at the reaction – it was not a typical fear of being beaten to a pulp reaction he was expecting; fact there was something quite familiar about that the redhead was sure he should know. It only took him a few minutes to place the feeling of familiarity before a sly grin spread across his face; the shorter teen cringed at the grin.

'Hey – why does it seem like you're turned on?' Ron whispered softly in the blond's ear, noting the visible shudder of the other's body; a low chuckle escaped him, purposefully blowing into the small, rounded ear. Draco shrieked as he jerked his head away, straining his neck to move as far away from the redhead as possible in his current trapped position – it was the second mistake he made for the day. Ron eyed the exposed skin hungrily – perhaps it was adrenaline, perhaps it was the lack of feeling a warm body against him – whatever the reason, he gave in to temptation running his lips along the porcelain white skin.

Draco went stiff as he felt the other's lips along the nape of his neck, gently suckling at the skin exposed. He tried to kick his legs about, but Ron managed to tangle their legs together, restricting the blond's movement even more as he bit down tenderly on the soft flesh. Draco winced as he gritted his teeth – this shouldn't be feeling so good. Ron pulled away from his neck, gazing down at the smaller teen with a crude smirk; the blond could only stare up at him with wide eyes as a large hand tugged at the tie around the redhead's neck. Ron held both wrists with one hand as he began binding them with his school uniform tie, reaching the bounded hands over the blond's head.

'There now – this makes things much easier.' He teased; Draco attempted to bring his bounded hands forward in hopes of hitting the redhead off of him, but the other seemed to have predicted the action, one hand pressing one arm down firmly against the concrete. The most Draco could do was wiggle his elbows, but he couldn't reach the redhead.

'You've ever been kissed before? Oh, but of course – you've got that mud-face pug girlfriend of yours, so it's a given.' Draco could only stare speechless at the redhead as Ron answered his own question; suddenly being punched in the face wasn't looking too bad. Ron leaned in again, as his free hand crept along the blond's chest, his fingers taunting a nipple through the thin, white material; Draco bit his tongue to stop the moan that was threatening to escape him.

'Well, well – seems you don't mind if it's a guy at all, do you Malfoy?' Draco wanted to spit back, but he was afraid if he opened his mouth now, he wouldn't be able to stop the moans that would escape him. The smirk on Ron's face widened, his hand travelling down from the other's chest, to reach just in between his thighs, just barely avoiding the becoming obvious hard-on tenting in the blond's pants. Draco let out a startled gasp as he felt the hand firmly squeeze his thigh; Ron took the opportunity to place his mouth over the blond's, delving his tongue in as he used the surprise to his advantage.

He should've bitten down till he bled, he should've kept struggling till he got his mouth free from the redhead's, but neither thoughts crossed his mind as an involuntary moan was swallowed by the other teen sitting on top of him. Ron placed his hand on the blond's knee, firmly pushing it further towards the ground before the need to breath forced him apart from the kiss. He was surprised by the pleasantly sweet coated taste that was Draco's, the usually colourless, pointed face was alive and pulsing with a deep red flush, his breathing harsh and heavy from the kiss – Ron licked his lips; he hadn't felt this wanton since… he couldn't even remember the last time he wanted to touch someone this badly.

He sat up a little straighter, tugging at the tie around the blond's neck before sliding it off and dropped it aside, nimble fingers making quick work of the buttons of the white uniform shirt. Draco protested noisily, still trying to move his arms with little success as Ron pinned them down with one hand, his free hand shoving the white fabric aside as he exposed the flawless snow-white skin underneath.

'You… really need to get more sun.' He commented absent-mindedly; he didn't think it was possible that anyone could be this pale, but seeing this clear, unmarked skin made him want to abuse it all the more. He leaned forward to run his tongue along the blond's collar bone, Draco tensing as he tried to twist his torso to avoid the redhead's wandering lips. A hand rested firmly on his hip, Draco flinching at the slight ticklish sensation it inflicted in him; Ron paused momentarily to note this new discovery, before continuing on trailing down the other's chest, leaving a wet trail as passed over a nipple, catching it with his teeth. Draco's breath hitched, biting down on his lip till it bled to prevent a pleasurable moan from escaping it as Ron swirled it with his tongue.

'Hey – it's all right to let go once in a while, you know. It's only half as fun when you're not making any noise.' Draco shuddered at the low, teasing voice in his ear; he was not about to dignify his enemy with a sound that he was enjoying this. He let out a startled gasp, his eyes going wide at the feel of the redhead's hand groping the front of his pants; the groan escaped him before he could stop it as that hand gently massaged the aching hard-on straining against the confines of his wears. A sly chuckle emitted from Ron at the sound, removing his hand from the blond's crotch to tap him on the chin.

'See now, that wasn't so bad? I'll bet you've already done it with your rat-ass girlfriend, huh?' Ron taunted, the grin on his face was completely different from what Draco was used to seeing; he had never seen the redhead look this cruel or so evil before. Nor did he think that the other teen was even capable of doing such things like he was now.

'Nnh…' He wanted to say something – anything, just for the sake of saying something, but he couldn't form a single syllabi much less complete a coherent thought in his mind. The grin on Ron's face widened, before he carefully and slowly climbed off the smaller frame beneath him, keeping a tight hold on his arms as he shifted the blond over on to his side. Draco glanced over his shoulder with wide, panicking grey eyes, feeling a hand fiddle with the buckle of his belt.

'Maybe I'm just bias, but I think – doing it with a guy is so much better then doing it with a girl.'

'… no… don't …' Draco managed out weakly, biting back a groan at the hand that sneaked it's way down the front of his pants, groping his cock through his underwear. Ron pulled him up right to a sitting position, placing himself just behind the blond as he continued to rub his hand along the twitching member.

'Funny – this part of you isn't complaining.' He whispered against his ear; Draco couldn't hold it back as he shuddered, a low rumbling noise of pleasure escaping him. He started slightly when he felt a finger being shoved into his mouth, the redhead scraping his teeth along his earlobe.

'I suggest you get them as wet as possible, or this will be very painful for you.' He wanted to bite down on the other's finger, to chew it off till it bled red in his mouth, but – he couldn't bring forth the will or the strength to do so, and began slowly suckling on the redhead's fingers as he added more into his mouth.

Draco only just barely registered the sound of zippers being pulled, feeling a tugging at his hips before realising Ron was trying to pull his pants down them along with his underwear. He closed his eyes shut tight as he meekly pushed himself up on his bounded hands to allow the other teen to expose his backside; since when did he become so passive to this person.

Ron yanked his fingers out of the blond's mouth, reaching down his front without hesitation, his free hand gesturing the smaller teen's legs apart further. He placed a teasing finger around the ring of the blond's entrance, Draco grimacing at the cold, wet feeling.

'It may feel a little awkward at first, but I think you'll enjoy it soon enough.' Ron chuckled against his shoulder; Draco opened his mouth hoping that a decent protest would come out of it, but froze up at the finger prodding him on the inside. He felt his whole body go ridge at the intrusion; Ron reached his free hand to taunt a nipple across the bare chest, tenderly nipping at the blond's neck.

'Relax – or it really will hurt.' Draco wanted to turn his head to glare at him, but he couldn't bring forth the effort to do so; the physically pain wasn't want he was worried about – his pride and dignity as a male was slowly being shattered as he was about to be taken by another guy. He grimaced at the second finger inserted, feeling the redhead twist and move them inside his body; this shouldn't be feeling good – he shouldn't be getting pleasure or mild satisfaction from being prodded by other guy, and someone he hated of all people. By the third finger, he was panting heavily, his body subconsciously grinding against the fingers toying with his prostate, and his aching cock leaking from being toyed with the other hand. Then without warning, Ron removed his fingers from him, a groan escaping the blond before he could stop it at the loss of contact before he felt the redhead press him forward on to his front. He felt a strong hand grab him firmly by the hip, feeling something definitely much larger then finger tips prod at his entrance.

'…no…' Tears leaked slowly from pale grey eyes as he shut them tight; Ron pushed against his shoulder, gently massaging the other's hip.

'Just relax – it only hurts if you refuse it.' The words from the redhead were surprisingly soft, but Draco was sure there was only but the slyest, most cruelest smirk on the freckled face he could possibly imagine, and it did nothing to calm him down as he felt Ron push the tip of cock in. He let out a staggered gasp.

'_FUCK!_' Ron paused a moment, before pushing in as slow as was humanly possible; while taking it, he always preferred it to be rushed, or fast paced – it was just something he liked better, but when giving it… Cedric had only let him top him three times, so this experience was still quite new to him, since the last two ass of a boyfriends were more domineering. After an excruciating slow pace, Ron finally managed to get himself all the way in, holding absolutely still as he waited on the blond to relax.

Draco's mind raced without much thought or reason, the tears streaming down his face as he cursed under his breath; the feelings that had been stirring in him earlier were quickly being diminished – how could any man find this act of intrusion sensually pleasing. He jumped a little at the feel of soft lips against the back of his neck, feeling one hand gently grip around his neglected cock; he cursed in his head – why did his neck have to be so sensitive. The redhead continued with his tactics till he felt the blond relax a little, before taking a risk and pulled out slowly, pushing back in with the same pace; another then a small flinch, it didn't seem like Draco was in pain. Ron grinned, before pulling out again, only this time pushing in a little faster; again the blond flinched, but he didn't seem in pain. With that rhythm, Ron slowly began working up to a steadier, faster pace, a hand resting firmly on Draco's hip while the other pumped up and down his shaft at a similar speed. He would have rather not, but Draco couldn't keep his voice to himself the harder and faster the other teen drove into him, staggering out a cry as he felt his body tighten in release in the other's hand. Ron bit down on his lower lip as he came inside the other teen, before slumping forward slightly as he let their fevered bodies cool after the temporary high.

As his heart slowed to a regular pace, Ron suddenly jerked his head up, bright blue eyes staring wide in horror as it struck him at what he had just done. Draco laid on his front, his face heavily flushed and stained with salty tears as he breathed in heavily from the exertion; Ron pulled out suddenly that it made him wince at the slight ache and stickiness in his lower region, before he felt the redhead turn him on his side. Shaking hands quickly undid the tie wrapped around his wrists, finally unbinding them before Ron quickly tucked himself in and straightened out his uniform. He quickly stood up to his feet, only pausing to pick his school bag off the ground then hastily paced towards the door of the roof, not once looking back at the shocked expression on Draco's face.

Draco rubbed his wrists, having finally had his hands freed, not caring for the red marks that had been embedded on his skin; an anger like nothing he's ever felt rose in him. Even his mother's thoughtlessness or his father's disregard for him had never riled him with what had just happened now. He could very well have the redhead sent to prison for what he did to him; what Ron had done was no better then rape, a violation against him, and overall just the worst possible thing Draco didn't even think could be done to him. The tears forced their way through his eyes as he slowly sat up, ignoring the slight throbbing pain between his legs; he could've stopped the redhead – there had been so many opportunities where he could've hurt him badly enough to distract him and escape… so why didn't he?

**-- Chapter Six --**

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Eeee – this turned out long… reeeeeeeeeeeally long…


	7. Chapter 7 : Why Did I?

Filler chapter (hence the crappy title for this one Dx)!! Sorta… it's kinda short, so it's kinda a filler, kinda not – enjoy. :P

Should be it for the sexual stuff for a while, so hopefully that means I'll get more chapters out faster... I'm sorry – I hesitate a lot when it comes to writing sex scenes… it's not really my forte.

**Warnings: **Contains the occasionally sexual situations here and there; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature) for later chapters

* * *

**-- Chapter Seven : Why Did I? --**

He stumbled in through the back door of the kitchen, grateful that his mother wasn't standing in there as he quickly paced through the open archway and headed towards the stairs; he climbed them two at a time, reaching the door that was his and slammed it shut behind him. Ron fell back against the wooden surface as he stood staring at the space of his room; he felt his whole body shaking, the guilt overwhelming his mind and rattling his nerves. He pushed away from the door, dropping his bag to the floor and headed over to the built-in closet to pull out a fresh change of clothing, and some bath supplies – he needed a shower desperately.

Peeking his head around the door, he snuck out of his room quickly and started down the hallway, hoping to make it to the bathroom without notice. The redhead let out a startled yelp as an arm reached around his shoulder, pulling him to a halt; he glanced up at the captor from the corner of his eyes.

'Well this is surprising – little Ronnie came home today.'

'… Let go, Fred!'

'Tsk tsk brother – can't even tell your own siblings apart.' Ron shoved his arm off roughly, not caring if it really was George or if it was really Fred – he wasn't in the mood to deal with them right now. As expected, the other twin appeared from nowhere, standing in front of him and blocked his path to the bathroom; Ron glared at him, the older redhead faking a scared smile at the glare.

'Aw – someone have a bad today? You seem rather down.'

'Leave me alone.' Ron pushed past him, feeling a hand grab him by the shoulder and pulling him to a halt.

'Hey – this is a once in a lifetime opportunity; rumors of strange happenings going on down at the old coot Hanson's house down the street.'

'We were thinking of checking it out, and well – we figured it be a good laugh if you came along too, unless you're too scared?' Ron smacked the hand away on his shoulder, turning around to face with a fierce glare as he barked at them.

'Just leave me the fuck alone!' Fred and George looked slightly startled at their younger brother, before both crossed their arms, staring at him with a slight frown.

'Well geeze – no need to get all bitchy with us.'

'We were trying to be nice – we can't be brotherly to you once in a while?' Ron hoped the expression he was giving them was a vacant one, but judging from the slightly surprised looks on their faces, he knew it wasn't. He quickly turned his back to them and continued on his way to the bathroom, shutting the door tight and quickly turned the lock. The twins glanced at each other as they listened to the click of the lock, a silent conversation going on between before both nodded and shrugged their shoulders and began heading downstairs. It was not their business to meddle in their brother's personal affairs – they had long since decided that even before finding out Ron was gay.

Ron leaned against the bathroom door as he listened to their footsteps fade down the stairs, before letting out a sigh, hugging his things close to his chest. He shouldn't have mouthed off at them like that – since when was the last time the twins invited him to do _anything_ with them. He was grateful at least that they weren't ones to hold grudges for something small like that – least not for a long time. Another sigh escaped before he moved to set his clothing on to the bathroom counter, heading over to the shower as he set his bath stuff down. He slowly stripped out of his school uniform, before stepping into the small tub and drew the curtain around it; he turned on the hot water first, flinching away at the scathing stream as it burned his skin slightly. He reached around it carefully to turn on the cold water faucet, till the temperature was at a bearable rate, before stepping under the fast pouring spray of liquid as it stung his skin. He stood for a moment to let the water wash over him, before reaching around the curtain for a wash cloth, picking up a bar of soap as he lathered it up and placed it back into the tray.

Why did he do that Draco? He wanted any excuse to justify it – his adrenaline, his crazy, whacked-out teenage hormones, the aching longing of feeling a warm body against his… Ron stopped at that last thought. He wasn't completely dependent on sex or physical pleasure, it's not as if he and Cedric did it every time they were together; they had days where they'd just sit and talk, or perhaps watch a movie, or take walks around town. The scrubbing stopped as the redhead stared blankly at the white patterned tiles; he loved Cedric, he had no reason to do that to Draco, even if he hated the blond he wouldn't go to extreme measures like that to make him as miserable as possible – so why did he?

'_Why not just admit you wanted to?'_ A voice sneered in his head; Ron growled at it, continuing on with his scrubbing roughly.

_I didn't want to – there's no way in hell I'd ever want to do it with that prat!_

'_Yet you still did – admit it, you're just lusting after him, aren't you?'_

Ron pounded a fist hard against the tiled wall as he willed the nagging voice silent, but he couldn't help but feel part of that was right. He hadn't been thinking about Cedric at all when he was doing all that to Draco – all he could think about the flawless, unmarked and almost innocent soft white skin of the other teen. Ron placed a hand over his face as the tears began to mingle with the water dripping down his face; he didn't want to hurt or lose Cedric – the fair-haired teen had given him something he had never had in any of his previous relationships – love. A sudden knock on the door jolted the redhead from his thoughts.

'Ron? Is that you? Is everything all right?' He heard his sister yell through the wooden surface; Ron quickly wiped at his eyes and willed the tears to stop, before answering her.

'Yeah, I'm fine Ginny.'

'You sure? You know if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm willing to listen.' Ron didn't answer her that time, turning his gaze down at the drain as he absently watched the water and soapy bubbles swirl down the holes. His private life was the one thing he'd _never_ talk about with his little sister – he never even talked about these things to Sirius and Remus, and he pretty much told them everything. A sad sigh escaped him before he continued on with his washing down, before finally reaching to turn the water off; he drew the curtain back and reached over to the towel rack near by, grabbing a somewhat battered, mud brown towel and quickly dried himself off. He retrieved his clothing from the counter top and changed into them, gathering up his bath stuff as he set the towel back on to the rack to dry, before unlocking the door and headed out to his own room. He checked the hall briefly to make sure Ginny wasn't waiting for him, incase she wanted to spring out to console him; seeing that it was clear, he dashed to his room and shut the door tight. He dumped his things back into his closet before sullenly going over to his bed and collapsed face first into his pillow. He took in the grateful scent of the lime-raspberry smell that lingered from the last time it had been washed, before rolling onto his side and closed his eyes.

**-8-**

The room was silent, as it was normally during this time; even the rushing clatter of the servants as they walked to and fro the kitchen to the grand dining room offered very little source of noise. Draco sat stiffly in the satin-linen chair, unable to lean his elbow on the table since it was not "proper" manner to do so, idly swirling the fillet chunks around his plate. His mother sat across from him, delicately chewing away on her simple salad – she usually avoided meats, believing it "improper" for a lady to devour such a diet; he glanced at the head of the table, simply for something to do, though he knew that seat would be empty.

Lucius Malfoy had gone away on a business trip and would not be back till this Sunday night; Draco had long learned to not expect his father at the dinner table. In fact, it was always a surprised at all to the see the elder Malfoy for dinner. Draco winced a little as he shifted slightly in his seat – for once he was grateful for the overly soft, smooth covers of the dining room chairs; it helped eased the pain in the his lower region from earlier today. Letting out a sigh, he put the fork down gently on the napkin, slowly and painfully scooting his chair back to stand up.

'I'm done.' Narcissa frowned at her son's response, before noticing he hadn't touched a single bite of his dish. She gazed up at him with worrying eyes.

'Are you not hungry, Draco? You hardly touched your meal.' Draco didn't answer her, only shaking his head as he slowly limped his way out of the room, hoping his mother wouldn't notice. He paused a moment as she called out softly to him just as he'd reach the door.

'If you ever get hungry later, you know the cook is always available and will make whatever you feel like, dear.' He let out a soft sigh, before slowing nodding his head and continued out of the room. He grimaced at the stairs he had to climb to get to his room, wincing every step up till he finally managed to reach his door, pushing it open slowly and entered in.

The room was adorned with green and silver colors blending with everything; the floor was carpeted with a lush, dark green flooring, the wallpaper was an ivy designed mingling with black, silver and mild green colors; his bed sat to the far left of the room, and was large enough to fit at least three people comfortably in it, lined with precise counted threaded sheets, and pure silk covering. Above the bed was a dark wooden frame, draping with large, thick heavy curtains that could block out any light once drawn in together, which not only allowed an excuse to sleep in later, but it also helped to hide Draco when he felt in the mood to sketch. He gazed at the bed appreciatively, going over to it slowly before collapsing on to the soft, bouncy feather-filled mattress, feeling himself sink down into it as if it were a cloud. He didn't want to think about today – about what happened after school; he let out a frustrated growled, burying his head in his arms. If only he hadn't been so illogical, he never would've given the redhead that note, they never would've fought like that in the first place and end up leading to…

A furious blush crawled to his cheeks, turning himself to lie on his stomach as Draco buried his face in one of the pillows lacing his bed. He should've stopped him, he had so many openings where he could've distracted the redheaded teen enough to escape and hide; so why didn't he stop him? Draco lifted his head up, gazing blankly up at the hand-carved design on his headboard; he had let Ron do that to him, and had willingly let the other teen steal his innocence. Draco suddenly grieved as the after thought hit him, burying his face in his pillow again – he had hoped the first time he finally did it would be with some pretty, rich girl, in far more decent place then the roof of a school building, and him actually giving it – not _receiving_ it.

He gritted his teeth, turning on to his side, the sharp pain shooting through his body reminding him the reason he had been moving slow for the rest of the day; he closed his eyes as he grabbed a second pillow and hugged it tight to his chest. He didn't want to think about this anymore – all he wanted to do was sleep, heal up and on Monday morning knock the redhead's teeth out with a bat.

**-- Chapter Seven --**

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Heehee – I can't wait to start the next chapter actually, so I may work on that tomorrow! :D Right now, it's 1am and I need sleep… been sorely lacking that lately…


	8. Chapter 8 : Invading Dream?

Yes! I FINALLY got this next chapter out… you know, I really need to stop hesitating when I write and just write – it just comes out naturally… I keep forgetting…

Anyways – enough babbler…

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature) for later chapters

**----- ****Chapter Eight : Invading Dream? ****-----**

He had to be dreaming – unless he had suddenly gained an ability to fly through the process of getting washed, dressing up and running out the door without memory, then it would certainly explain how he went from lying in his bed to now standing within this brightly lit, highly lavished and reeking rich ballroom. Icy moon grey eyes watched the overly adorned women, with their silken fine dresses titter and dance with only but the finest, but not necessarily handsome, men in their crisp, clean suits and slicked back hair; the live concert of strings played a soft classic waltz, one Draco was sure he should be familiar with, but couldn't place. He took a quick look down at himself, seeing that he was dressed in but his best threads, his hair, thankfully, untouched by gel or hair spray and fell naturally over his eyes.

He was about to consider walking out of this ballroom gala in hopes of making this dream more interesting, but it seemed to have done that for him as a pretty young blond woman made her way over to him, holding out her hand boldly.

'May I trouble you for a dance, young master?' She asked pleasantly; Draco gave her his best smile, before taking her hand gently and placed a tender kiss on her knuckles.

'I think the question is – are you willing to dance with me, my lady.' She chuckled playfully, letting him take her by the hand and lead them out onto the dance floor; she placed a hand on his shoulder, his going to her waist before Draco led her in dance. All throughout the waltz, Draco could feel her eyes boring into him, her soft breaths, the subtle moves of her body showing she was very much out to seduce him, and since this was merely a dream, he would gladly jump at it when the moment should arise. She was the kind of woman men would kill to possess or touch; she had a gorgeous round face, but her sharp raised eyes gave her a mature look. Her nose was long and slender and her lips were painted delicately, drawn with a slight upturn to give her a more alluring appeal; she had beautifully curved hips and her breasts were an apple of desire that no doubt made every women envy her. Draco allowed his eyes to stray downwards to her bust; the dress she wore all but barely supported them, and it wouldn't have shocked him at all if all she had to do was jump and they slip right out.

'My, aren't you a naughty little boy.' She teased playfully, Draco averting his eyes back up to the seductive grin on her face. He only gave her a smug grin, knowing that he could full well get away with this, since after all – this was his dream, he could make it go whatever way he wanted to. She was about to lean in, about to whisper sensually in his ear, to lick at his ear lobe, to kiss him – he wasn't sure, but a hand came between them, causing both to jump back a little as they turned their attention to a young teen boy, who couldn't have been much older then the blond, standing aside of them. Draco glared at the intruding boy stopping him from his fantasy – this was suppose to be his dream, not some real to life vision. The other teen had falling red hair that flow neatly around his face, which was covered by a white, jewel encrusted masquerade mask, making it impossible to see his true face; he stood taller then Draco by a few inches, and the suit he wore shone of high quality, hand-made material despite the rather casualness of it.

'Pardon me, mind if I cut in?' His voice was light and sugar coated, but there was a hint of husk to it, as he held his hand out to them. The woman glanced him up and down with an appreciative stare and Draco had a feeling he was going to be switched out and left to his own devices of this slowly souring dream. She let his hands go as he expected her to – just typical of a spoiled, proud rich girl; the minute they find a better specimen, they drop their last prey and latch on to the new one. She held her hand out to the redheaded stranger expectantly, but it was not her dance he was interrupting; Draco looked slightly startled as the other teen took _his_ hand and lead him to a different part of the dance floor, leaving the young woman staring shocked and disgruntled at being passed over.

Draco stumbled a little on his feet as the taller teen took him in his arms, reaching one hand around his waist while holding the other with his and began to lead them in dance. A flush appeared on the blond's face, looking away from the masked stranger as the muttered whispers arose at them.

'T-that-that woman seemed interested in you…' He weakly excused, trying to pull away from the teen holding on to him, but the grip tightened a little, pulling him even closer then before.

'I have no interest in whores like her.' He whispered softly against his ear; Draco couldn't help but shiver at the hot breath that blew over him, allowing the redhead to lead him across the dance floor. He couldn't make sense of it – the other woman had been practically flaunting her body in his face, and yet – why was just simply standing close to this mysterious teen making his heart race faster then the express train trapped in an endless circle. He squeaked a little as the other boy pulled him even closer till they were dancing chest to chest, feeling the hand on his hip drift a little lower. The flush on his face deepened, quickly pushing himself away from the masked redhead as he tried to settle his beating heart; the other grinned at him teasingly, gently grasping his wrist and began pulling him away from the crowded floor.

Draco opened his mouth to protest, but the other swung around to face him, quickly placing his mouth over his. Pale grey eyes went wide in surprise, the complaint lost on his tongue as the redhead pulled back from the brief kiss, before continuing on escaping them from the eyes of the disapproving crowd. Once they had turned the corner and into an empty hallway, Draco felt himself be shoved up against the wall, the taller teen wasting no time in recapturing his mouth in much more ravishing kiss then the one they shared earlier. Slender, frail hands pushed against the broad shoulders, trying to break away from the kiss, but as he got use to the feel of the other's tongue inside his mouth, Draco felt his grip slacken a little, slowly relaxing against the other's embrace as a soft moan escaped him. He had hesitantly reached out to meet the other's tongue before the redhead pulled away, a small whine escaping at the loss before he could silence it. A light chuckle jolted him from his daze, gazing up at the white jeweled mask that still donned the mysterious teen's face; there was even a sheer sheet covering the eye holes, making impossible to see inside the true color of his eyes.

'You enjoyed that didn't you, young _master_ Malfoy.' The tease was almost unbearable, and Draco wasn't sure which was annoying him more – the fact that this boy was mocking him, or that he wanted another kiss which the other was denying him at the moment. The redhead pulled back slightly, as he reached a hand for the mask on his face.

'Hey, why don't just admit,' he slowly began to tear the offending cover away from his face, Draco's eyes going slightly wide as he recognised the face slowly being revealed. 'You like me, don't you Malfoy?'

Draco could only stare up in utter silence and shock at the grinning face of Ron Weasley.

**-8-**

His eyes snapped open, staring up at the thick, velvety cover surrounding his bed, his breathing come in rasp and harsh. Draco slowly sat himself up as he buried his face into his palms; the dream had been going perfectly until the redhead's image suddenly popped up into it. He raked a hand through his fine, silken hair as his eyes gazed miserably at the end of his bed; he couldn't even have a decent dream without having Ron show up and torture him. His heart beat suddenly raced as his mind replayed the image of the kiss they had shared in the dream, and he was sure his cheeks were red – why had he been more exciting by the redhead then the woman in his dream?

Draco let out a silent scream of frustration before tossing aside the covers he guessed that one of the servants had placed over him, reaching a hand for the lamp on his bed-side drawer. He slid off the mattress ungracefully, sinking down to all fours as he reached underneath the bed frame for a small, wooden box tucked neatly there. He reached aside of him for the small key resting near the base of the lamp, and quickly jammed it into the tiny hole of the lock and clicked it open. Once it clicked, he slipped it off carefully, flipping the lid open to reveal a cover-less, spiral bound book inside; an almost instant calm washed over him as he gazed it affectionately. It was the first sketchbook he had ever purchased, and still had several blank pages left to scribble on. Pale grey eyes quickly glanced back at the closed door, before pulling the book out of the box; he climbed back onto his bed and drew the curtains around it tightly, save for a small opening to allow the light from his bed-side lamp to shine through. He pulled out the pencil and eraser that were tucked neatly away in the spiral, before flipping it open to a blank page, once or twice stopping to grimace, then laugh at the older drawings contained in the book.

He placed the graphite tip to the white of the page and let his hand wander, sketching out lines in hopes of forming a picture in due time; he didn't care for the time, or for how long this would keep him up. He was not in the mood to fall back to sleep, should he have another reoccurrence of that dream with a certain redhead in it.

**-8-**

The cracks on his ceilings were getting larger – either that, or Ron had been staring at them too long, as he lay stretched out on his back. He could hear the faint activity of his older brothers next door to his room; he wondered in the back of his mind what sort of project they were working on now. Ginny was out with some friends, and while he loved her just as much as the rest of his family, it was nice not having to deal with her constant pestering and persist nagging to seriously talk to their parents. Ron sighed, before curling up on his side – he had nothing more to say to his parents, and they obviously had nothing to say to him, so why bother?

He slowly sat up on his bed to stare out the single window that miraculously managed to light the entire of his room during the day; he was suppose to be meeting Hermione and Harry today for a weekend fun of slacking off and the enjoyment of a new movie that recently came out. A tight knot welded in his chest – he lied to both of them, saying he wasn't feeling well, when really it was just guilt of what happened yesterday afternoon – of what he did to Malfoy that was really making him ill.

Even now, he still had not formed a single clue as to why he did that to the other teen; what he had done was no different from rape – he had forced Draco against his will, and the guilt of that was enough to make his stomach churn. The feeling was worsened still by the fact that he had practically cheated on Cedric while the other was away. The guilt doubled when he had finally realised earlier this morning that the first thing he panicked about was violating Malfoy, before the thought of Cedric even crossed his mind.

A soft sigh escaped him as he brought his knees to his chest, burying his face in his arms; a shrilling ring of bells jolted his attention, Ron glancing over to where his mobile phone was sitting on his bedside drawer. Hesitant, he reached a cautious hand for it, glancing at the I.D. number flashing "unknown"; the redhead paused a moment, before hitting the answer key, brining the phone to his ear.

'Hello?'

'Hey love – guess who?'

'C-Cedric!' Ron's heart instantly stopped for a brief moment, before it began beating wildly in his ears. He heard the other laugh softly on the other side.

'Well you certainly sounded surprised.'

'I thought – I thought they forbid outside calls for the competition.'

'They did – but I finally back in England.' This time Ron was sure his heart stopped and would not start up again; he was happy to have his boyfriend back in town again, but the lingering guilt was preventing him from enjoying the sandy-haired teen's return fully.

'Really? So – h-how'd it go? The competition I mean; did you guys win?'

'Ah, not exactly – we got our arses beaten out there. We only managed forth or fifth place in some of the events, but the coach was pretty easy on us about that.'

'You were college students going up against professional athletes who have been training for years – I'd say forth and fifth place is bloody well amazing.' Cedric laughed a little on the other end, making a small noise in agreement; Ron felt a soft smile come to his face – how could have cheated on Cedric like that when there was so much he loved about the other boy.

'Hey, are you free right now?'

'Just sitting at home – why?'

'Well – I mean, I was gone for a lot longer than I said I would be – I've missed you, Ron,' the redhead twirled his fingers in his sheets partly out of nervousness and partly out of eager. Only Cedric could make him feel like some love-struck teenage girl.

'So where shall I meet you, love?' Ron asked, hoping that he kept the giddiness out of his voice as his spoke.

'I just got off the train, so I'm still in King's Cross.'

'Then I'll meet you there.' Cedric fussed a little that it was too far of a trip, but Ron lightly argued he didn't mind; in the end, the older boy agreed to sit and wait at the station till Ron came and met up with him. The redhead gave him a quick goodbye and a kiss over the phone, before hanging up, smiling softly at the object in his hand. The smile faded though, gripping a hand at his chest; he couldn't help the pained feelings aching in his chest. He had forced sex on Malfoy, and now he was going off to see Cedric as if it had never happened; his thumb hovered over the numbers, ready to type in the other's mobile number when he remembered that it had been an "unknown" number, meaning that Cedric had probably called him by pay-phone.

With not much choice, Ron crawled off his bed and headed towards his closet to change into something more suitable for an outing then the worn, faded grey shirt and ripped jeans he was currently wearing.

**----- Chapter Eight -----**


	9. Chapter 9 : Who is Better?

I'm hiding… I have no excuse for my lack of updates – it's pure laziness… I shall hopefully get more coming soon. Perhaps tis time to start a new story too – need to get some plot bunnies breeding, so I don't stop writing… -kicks her own lazy arse-

Anyways – yes this story is going very slowly; sorry, this kinda how I had planned it from the start, so I have nine pages of probably boring goodness for you… I promise it will pick up pace eventually – so please be patient with me till then. –bows-

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature) for later chapters

* * *

**----- Chapter Nine : Who is Better? -----**

Draco sat ungracefully on the large, lounging couch, slouched forward in his seat, head leaning back against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. He was only able to sit improperly like this simply because his mother had gone out early this morning; she claimed she would only do a little bit of window shopping then be right back, but Draco knew her better. He knew it would be hours before the Malfoy Madam would return home and it was more then likely she'd be bringing home a few packages from her "window" shopping.

However, being improper and "uncivil", as his mother put it, wasn't the only thing he was going to take advantage of while she was away; a soft sigh escaped as the blond leaned forward on his knees. He wanted to test something – something he had been questioning since last night.

As expected, the front door bell chimes rang, hearing a servant quickly scurry by the parlor to answer it. A few minutes later, the same servant appeared in the door way, followed by a familiar dark-haired girl standing behind her.

'Your guest has arrived, Master Draco.' Draco only gave the servant girl a quick nod, the young woman asking if they required any sort of refreshments; he gave a quick glance to Pansy, seeing her shake her head subtly, before giving his answer to the servant. She gave a low bow then stepped aside to let Pansy into the parlor and stepped out, closing the door behind her. A long silence settled between the two teens, Pansy folding her hands together as she gave the fair-haired boy a timid smile.

'It was – very surprising, Draco, when you called me this morning.' Draco only hummed, straightening himself up as he motioned for the teen girl to sit down next to him. Pansy fiddled a little before slowly making her way over to the sofa, carefully sitting herself down next to her boyfriend. While she reasoned she shouldn't be so nervous about this, it was rare that the blond ever invited her over to his house, and she couldn't help feel that there was something different about him today; he wasn't his usual haughty self, nor was he praising her, complimenting her or saying any sort of phrase that usually sent her heart afloat. She reached a hand out for his hesitantly, causing Draco to jump back a little, surprising them both.

'Are – are you all right, Draco? Did something happen?' Icy grey blinked into dark brown eyes, before they looked away, Draco shaking his head slowly.

'N-no, just – a bit tired, that's all. I didn't sleep very well last night.' Pansy made a small noise, reaching a hand to pull her hair behind her ear, as she glanced to the side; he had been mostly fine during the week – a little distracted it seemed, but nothing else about him had seem odd. She gazed at him from the corner of her eye – something had to have happened after school yesterday; he had been perfectly fine all day from what she had seen. Pansy sat antsy in her seat, unsure of what to say or what to do, much less what Draco was thinking right now. The silence was beginning to overwhelm the dark-haired girl, so she decided to take the first step and hopefully get a comfortable conversation going with the fair-haired teen.

'Um – you know – mother's been invited to star in another movie again, but she turned them down. I don't see why she doesn't just accept the offers and act again; I'm old enough to take care of myself, and –'

'Do you – mind if I kiss you?' Draco interrupted; Pansy paused mid-speech before turning round brown wide with surprise upon him.

'Well, o-of course I don't mind – I _am_ your girlfriend, after all. Why would you need permission…' Her voice trailed off as the other finally turned his eyes to face her, carefully placing a hand by her side and slowly leaned in towards her. Pansy froze a moment feeling the soft touch of Draco's lips against hers; the question had caught her by surprise – Draco had never asked if it was all right to kiss her, and she had to admit it was a bit uncomfortable seeing the blond so – what was the word – humble?

The kiss was soft and gentle, much different from what she was used to with him; Draco pulled back slightly, starling moon grey eyes gazing blankly into hers before leaning back in to recapture her mouth. This time, Pansy hesitated a little with her response, letting her eyes fall shut as she relaxed a little; as uncomfortable and unnatural this seemed to her, it was different and in a strange sort of sense, enjoyable. Her eyes snapped open at the feel of finger tips gracing the curve of her breast, pulling back startled as she hastily crossed her arm protectively over her chest. Draco looked equally surprised, before he quickly turned his gaze away, avoiding staring at the girl eye to eye.

'… Draco, I – I just…'

'No, I apologise, that was – rather vulgar of me.' He muttered softly; Pansy still kept her arm steadily across her chest, turning her gaze away as a dark flush spread across her face.

'It's not that – it-it just took me by surprise, that's all. I mean, if you really w-want to…' Draco slowly shook his head, staring down at the plush carpeted floor, not daring to face the nervous girl sitting next to him.

'No, I pushed you past your comfort – that was not very polite of me.' Pansy could only stare at him; now she knew there was definitely something wrong. If Draco Malfoy wanted something, he'd do any sort of means to get it, and it didn't matter to him who he hurt or betrayed along the way of getting to his goals. She knew all that, but despite so, perhaps it was that determination and unyielding resistance to bend to defeat that had attracted her to him in the first place.

The atmosphere became unbearable; Pansy slowly stood up to her feet and began heading towards the door, still keeping her arm protectively over her chest.

'I-I think its best if-if I take my leave now. I promised my mother I'd be back for lunch.' Draco only hummed in response, not once tearing his eyes away from the floor. Pansy said her goodbyes, then quickly paced out of the door, her footsteps fading down the hallway as she headed out for the front door.

The impeding silence raged his inner most thoughts in his mind, as the fear he had been suspicious about since last night were being realised – he couldn't draw anything from the kiss, or from the brief moment he had laid his hand on her bosom. He had been confused and terrified at the fact he hadn't drawn any sort of real attraction to the woman in his dream, but he excused because the feel hadn't been real. Draco had thought that perhaps if he had been more conscious, more aware of the actual touch it would be different, but he had felt nothing. He buried his face in his hands, feeling his body tingle with a slight ache as the memories of yesterday afternoon forced their way into play. He hadn't wanted to admit it, and he still didn't want to, but after over half a year of dating Pansy and still he felt odd when they kissed – there had to be something wrong with his head.

Draco stood up to his feet in an instant, quickly pacing out of the parlor and headed up the stairs; a servant wandering around the hall way glanced at him slightly startled, but before she could ask him for anything, the young heir had already marched up the grand staircase and disappeared around the corner. Draco forced the door to his room open, slamming it shut behind him, speed walking over to his bed and threw himself upon the soft, bouncing mattress.

He laid face first for a few minutes, before pushing himself up to a sitting position; he reached over for his phone on the side drawer and quickly snapped it open, hot-keying through his phone book till he found the number he was looking. He glanced briefly at the clock to check the time; he was probably still asleep, but Draco didn't care right now, and hit the call button and listened to the phone ring on the other end. It rang several times before finally being picked up, a very sluggish and definitely grouchy voice answering.

'Whoever the fuck you are, better have a will ready, because I will fucking kill you!'

'Hello to you too, Blaise.'

'Draco? Fuck – you have any idea what time it is?!' Draco glanced at the clock again.

'It's eleven-four-fifty, Blaise…'

'And you know fucking well weekdays are the only times I'm up before one.' Draco only scoffed as he brought one knee close to his chest, glaring at the end of his bed.

'Serves you right – if you didn't go out clubbing till some ungodly hour in the morning, you wouldn't be so bloody tired all the time.' Blaise only huffed on the other end; on while at first glance, the other boy seemed like the type who'd treasured academics over social interactions, Blaise was probably the most active clubber Draco knew. He had a dark handsome beauty that made him seem more mature than his actual age, and he had a charm of sweet talking his way into clubs he was not legal to enter yet. Blaise grumbled and muttered into the phone as he suppressed a yawn.

'So? What shit do you want now? If you called for nothing –'

'Even I'm not that stupid to mess with your rage… it's just…' Draco hesitated a little, bringing his other knee close to his chest as he hugged them with one arm. Another yawn made its way over the phone.

'Will you just fucking get it over with!'

'…Blaise – I think – I think I'm gay…' He softly blurted out, gently biting down on his lower lip as he waited on his friend's reply. Blaise was silent for a few minutes, before he finally spoke again.

'Oh, is that all? That's nice, Draco. Now if you don't fucking mind – I'm going back to sleep.' With that, there was a loud, heavy click as the other teen hung up the phone. Draco blinked into the space infront of him, before letting out a huge sigh; pulling the phone away from his ear, he hung up and waited as he rested his chin on his knees, mentally counting down in his head. Just as he reached zero, his phone rang, Draco answering it without hesitation.

'I'm sorry… could you repeat that last statement?' Blaise asked, definitely sounding more awake than he had been two minutes ago. Draco sighed.

'I think I'm gay.'

'Yeah, that's what I thought you said…' He heard the other boy sigh, faintly hearing the flutter of sheets being moved around as he guessed that Blaise was either getting out of bed, or shifting to a more comfortable position.

'So? What bought about this revelation?' Draco swallowed his breath; how was he supposed to explain this Blaise. He was by the far the most trusted and important friend Draco had in the world, but could he really tell the other boy what had happened between him and a certain jerk of a redhead. A furious blush crawled upon the blond's cheeks, feeling his body tingle again at the memories on the rooftop; he quickly dispelled them from his mind and decided to start with what had happened with Pansy earlier today, and then explained the dream he had last night (excluding the mentioning of a certain name, of course) that led to his currently conclusion.

**-8-**

The music was pounding against his ears, the dimness of the lights was straining his eye sight, and the hazy, smoky atmosphere of the area was giving him a headache. Draco sat with an annoyed expression on his face, hands covering tightly over his ears trying to lessen the impact of the booming music ringing in his ears. How in the world did he ever let Blaise talk him into this; he had better things to do with his Saturday nights then sit around in a club and bar. Ice grey eyes glared in the direction across from him, spying the other boy sitting quite comfortable between two older women, a grin spread across dark, handsome features as he chatted smoothly with them.

The growl that escaped the blond was lost instantly with the music, standing up to his feet as he prepared to push his way through the crowded area and towards the exit. Whether his friend noticed his departure or not, Draco didn't care, nor did he bother to inform the other he was leaving; he finally managed to squeeze past the densely packed masses of flesh and skin towards the door, leaning on it with a heavy sigh before heaving it open and walked out into the late night air.

He shivered slightly at the chilled evening air as it blew softly over him, wrapping his arms around himself. _Well now, what…_ Draco thought to himself; while it had been a good idea at the time, he now realised why he hadn't left earlier. After discussing his little revelation with Blaise, the other teen had somehow conned him into venturing out with him tonight to a club he frequented – to see if Draco really didn't find women attractive. The blond snorted to himself; it hadn't exactly worked – he had been too busy scowling at the general atmosphere of the club to really pay attention to anyone around him.

A heavy sigh escaped him, staring down blankly at the black paved ground; he couldn't call home for a driver to pick him up, nor did he have any money on him to pay for a public transport (not that his pride would even let him resort to that), since Blaise had promptly dragged him out of his house before he even had time to properly prepare for a night out. Draco kicked at the ground as he let out a growl, cursing the other boy in his head.

'Well this is just bloody fantastic!' The sounds of tires screeching across the pavement diverted his attention, Draco turning his gaze to a pair of headlights blaring in his direction. The blond suddenly froze as the on coming vehicle came straight at him.

'Watch it!' There was a sharp tug on his arm, and Draco felt himself tumble into a soft embrace as the car just barely missed him as it passed by. He vaguely felt an arm encircle him around the shoulder protectively, but everything else around him seemed non-existent.

'Honestly – This isn't a fucking highway, you know!' He heard his savoir yelled out to the vehicle zooming away in the distance, the rest a muttered grumble as he left the stranger gently pull away from him.

'Hey – you all right?' Draco couldn't answer, feeling his whole body starting to shake; he could've been killed just now. He barely felt the hands on his shoulder, gently shaking him.

'Hey – oy! Shit, you've gone into shock.' He was amazed his legs haven't give way, and collapsed to the ground; Draco stood petrified, feeling the whole core of his body go numb as the thought of what almost happened whirled through his mind. He felt a vague feathery touch caress warmly across his face, somewhat snapping to attention as he tilted his head up little; his vision finally focused when he felt something soft and velvety press tenderly against his mouth. Ice moon grey eyes snapped wide open, jerking back as his hand automatically swung out and slapped the stranger across the face.

'Ow, ow, ow, ow – that smart!' The man pulled back, wincing at the pain as he rubbed the stinging area with his hand; Draco glared up at him, a slight blush spreading across his face. The man pouted at him.

'Bloody fine way to show your appreciation, lad.'

'D…Don't just go randomly k-kissing strangers you don't know!' Draco managed to yell out, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the man standing infront of him. The tall stranger only pouted at him, still gently rubbing the side of his face.

'You're welcome; and I just didn't want you to go into shock, all right?'

'Bloody messed up way to stop someone!' Draco spat back; this time the man only grinned at him, placing his hands in his jacket pockets as he shrugged.

'Ah, well – I'm not one for conventional means of doing things. 'Sides, you gotta admit – that really did wake you up some, didn't it?' The blond only gritted his teeth, the light pink tint across his nose darkening to a light magenta, the taller man laughing slightly at the expression on his face. He hadn't wanted to look, but somehow Draco found himself staring at his current savoir in what little light the street lamps provided on the darkened front of the parking lot; the first thing he had noticed was a tiny dark mole under the corner of the man's left eye, before he found himself gazing into sharp raised, nut brown eyes that stood out from under long, dark lashes. He had a long, shapely, slender nose, his mouth draw up to perfection as it grinned at him; dark red wine hair fell gracefully over the rounded oval face, and Draco was slightly surprised by the effeminate appearance of the man.

Draco felt his heart race for a completely different reason from fear; he quickly turned his gaze away from the man, holding a hand over his face as the blush deepened to a dark crimson red. He did not just catch himself checking out another guy – the young blond was not quite ready to admit _that_ yet.

'So – what's a young novice like you doing out here in this part of town? You're obviously not a frequent, considering you almost just got yourself killed.' The redhead added; Draco turned to glare at him, before turning his back to the man, letting out a huge huff.

'It's not like I _wanted_ to be here, I was _dragged_ here against my will.'

'Hmm – this sounds oddly romantic.' The redhead teased; Draco spun around to face him, narrowing his eyes at him as he gave the man a fierce glare.

'How is this in any way "romantic"? And a random thing to say at that!'

'I get that a lot; even my companions say I just blurt out nonsense.' The taller man laughed, scratching the back of his head; the blond ran a hand through his hair irritated – he couldn't go home, or call for a driver from home and now he was stuck with a stranger (and while grateful for the save) who was turning out to be an absolute nutcase. Draco turned his back to him again, glaring down at the tarred pavement.

'If you've got nothing else better to do, then leave me the hell alone!'

'Why not just head back home without your companion if you really hate it here that much?' The question made the corner of Draco's mouth twitch a little.

'Because… because that bloody bastard dragged me out of my house before I could even grab anything of use to me.' He managed to grit through his teeth, burning an invisible hole into the ground; he heard a light chuckle from behind him, feeling a light tap against the back of his head as the redhead came up by his side.

'I'm sure your mother's taught you not to accept rides from strangers, but I could always give you a lift home – I'm heading out anyways, so I don't mind making an extra trip.'

'…That… is the lamest pick up line I've ever heard.' The redhead laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish grin coming to his face.

'Ah, you found me out already,' he teased, before gazing at the young blond seriously. 'But really, the offer's up for grabs. Course, completely up to you.' Draco only stared up at the taller man, rolling the options in his head – on the one hand, this was a complete stranger whose way of retrieving someone out of shock was to kiss them, so there was a heavy distrust about this man's intentions. On the other hand, he didn't want to head back into the club just to find Blaise and demand that the other return him home this instance; nor did he want to wait around for hours in the dead of night till the other finally noticed he was missing or decided to retire for the night. He didn't have much time to think too deeply on the two when he heard the aforementioned boy calling out to him.

'Draco!' Blaise paced towards the pair, his mouth drawn in a slight frown as he came up to them with his arms across his chest; Draco only give the other boy a blank stare.

'Fuck – don't scare me like that! Next time tell me when you're stepping out.'

'You're not my nanny Blaise, so bugger off! And while you're here, take me home this instance!' A frustrated sigh escaped the dark skinned teen, Blaise putting his hands on his hips as he stared steadily into hardened grey eyes.

'You agreed to this, incase you have already forgotten – besides, the driver's not going to come for several more hours, and he's probably sleeping right now so he'll be awake to pick us up.' Draco cursed in his head as he bit down on his tongue; there was no way he was going to go back inside the club with the horrid pounding beat they called music. He held his gaze with Blaise for several minutes, before spinning around on his heels to face the redhead standing behind him.

'You know what – I think I'll take you up on that ride home.' He said boldly; the man only raised an eye brow at him, pointing to the other teen standing behind him, but Draco didn't have to turn around to know the horrified expression on his friend's face. Blaise stood silent for a moment, before grabbed the blond roughly by the arm.

'Are you fucking out of your fucking mind! You don't even know what this dickhead is going to do to you!' The redhead frowned at the dark-haired teen, mumbling something under his breath; Draco jerked his arm out of the grasp, reaching a slender hand for the collar of the taller man's shirt and began dragging him away.

'Draco!' The blond only paused a moment to give his friend a sharp glare, before turning away with his nose in the air; the redhead stranger managed to pull himself away from the young teen's grasp, gesturing over to the large black motorcycle standing alone in one of the parking squares. He handed a spare helmet to the blond, before strapping on his own, kicking the kick-stand up and swung his leg over the seat of the bike; Draco seated himself carefully behind the man, reaching his hands to hold on to broad shoulders.

'Don't bother calling me for the rest of the weekend – I'll see you at school, Zabini.' Before Blaise could open his mouth to protest, Draco urged the redhead to go, the man only sighing before kicking the motor to life and pushed off on to the road. The blond didn't bother to look behind him as he faintly heard the other's voice fade in the distance.

'You sure it's all right to leave your boyfriend behind like that?' the redhead asked; Draco tensed at how he phrased it, digging his fingers tight into his shoulder, which caused him to swerve a little in his steering. The man let out a sigh once he got back under control, briefly glancing over his shoulder at the fair-haired teen behind him.

'Shit – don't ever do that again.'

'… Sorry – but he wasn't my boyfriend!'

'Is that so? He certainly made it sound like he was.' Draco growled a little, tapping his fingers in the motion that he would hurt the other again if he kept up with those comments; the redhead seemed to get the idea, quickly muttering out small apologies. The road became silent as the buildings and street lights seemed to pass by in a slight blur; a soft sigh escaped the blond as he stared off to the side.

'By the way – the name's Zach.'

'And I care because?'

'Just thought I'd let you know my name, since I got to know yours – Draco.' Draco was glad he was sitting behind the man, that way the other didn't have to see the slight flush that appeared across his cheeks.

'So – why exactly were you dragged out there anyways? Seems like you have better things to do.' The blond scoffed, leaning back slightly in his seat as he clung tighter to Zach's shoulders.

'The excuse was trying to figure something out.'

'Oh? Like what?' Zach questioned, the genuine curiosity in his voice somehow made it easy to talk to him. Draco glanced out to the side again, subconsciously resting his head against the firm back.

'Just – something about myself… I don't know…'

'Hm? Seems a bit odd though, going to a club to try and figure something out about yourself.'

'Yeah, well – the excuse was that a club has more "mature" women, and all that shit.' He was sure his cheeks were red, he could feel the heat from his face being trapped inside the helm; Zach's shoulders shook a little as he let out a low chuckle.

'Ah, I see how it is now. Well, I suppose it's only natural – trying to get a feel of what a real woman's body feels like, huh?' Draco nearly fell off the moving motorcycle, half his face had gone bright red and he was really, really glad that the other had to focus on the road.

'T-That's not it!'

'What? Nothing to be embarrassed about – you know, a woman with a decent size, nice curves, cute, perky tits – ah, a sensitive clit is a plus.' For some reason, Draco shuddered at the description, leaning half his weight against the older man at the sudden nausea that overcame him – he blamed it on motion sickness.

'That was … far too much information.' Zach threw his head back slightly as he let out a hardy laugh.

'Most guys your age would've been drooling over the imagery. You're either extremely sheltered, or…' He suddenly hesitated, and Draco had a sinking feeling he knew what the other wanted to say, but still he urged him to say it.

'Or – what?' The redhead was silent for a long time, before a smirk that the blond couldn't see came to his face.

'Or – you're completely gay.' The younger of the two didn't say anything; Draco ducked his head down as he watched the scenery blur by from the corner of his eyes. He soon realised that he was beginning to recognise his surroundings.

'I don't recall telling you where I lived.'

'It's not that hard to guess – young heir Malfoy.' Zach replied smoothly; Draco went stiff in his seat – was he really that recognisible of an icon, or rather – his family name was well known. All too soon the motorcycle pulled up to the curve just outside the mansion gate, the gentle roar of the motor died out slowly as Zach cut the engine. Draco quickly stumbled off the bike, reaching to pull the helm the redhead had lent him off his head and handed it back to the man.

'Thanks – just don't expect any favours in return though.' Draco muttered towards the man; Zach laughed softly as he strapped away the extra helmet, before leaning on the handles of his bike.

'Nah, I can't expect too much from the all mighty Malfoy family.' He taunted lightly; pale grey eyes glared in his direction, before Draco let out a huff, murmuring something close to a good night and began heading towards the tall, wrought-iron gates. He had barely taken a step forward when a hand grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around; a word barely had a chance to escape his mouth before Zach covered it with his. Draco froze as he stared up at the man with wide eyes, the redhead using the shock to his advantage and delve his tongue right in the open mouth. Finally gaining some senses back, Draco managed to pull away from him, holding the back of his hand over his mouth; Zach only grinned at him, reaching for his own helmet to put on over his head.

'Wh-what – what the bloody hell was _that_ for?!' the blond finally managed to blurt out, taking cautious steps back towards the gates should the older man try to kiss him again; Zach paused with putting on his helm, as he gave the young teen a smirk.

'You never really said anything earlier – about either being really sheltered, or being gay, but since you mentioned you were trying to figure out something about yourself, I figured it was the latter.'

'… I have a girlfriend, you know.' The smirk on his face widened, continuing on with strapping his helmet securely on his head. He turned the key in the ignition and kicked the motor back to life.

'Then I'll leave you with something to think about – which felt better? Being with your girlfriend, or,' he made the motion of giving an air kiss towards the blond, at which Draco felt the tip of his ears burn slightly. 'Sharing a kiss with me.'

Draco didn't say anything; Zach gave him one last look, before pushing off on to the road, speeding away into the dark of night as the sounds of his motor faded slowly in the distance. The blond hesitate outside the gates of his house, his fingers lingering along his lips as he stared down at the concrete pavement – first Ron, and now a complete stranger he had only just met tonight. He was beginning to wonder if he had some sort of sign on him that said "kiss me" or other. He pounded a fist against the bar of the gate, regretting it a second later as it stung his hand, before shoving a smaller visitor's entrance open and began the trek up towards the mansion; he didn't want to think about tonight anymore. He had been left with even more confusions than he was with answers; he couldn't understand himself or what his mind verse his body wanted. Draco rubbed his forehead tenderly with his hand – he was beginning to get a headache from all this; he hated to admit that he had enjoyed that brief kiss with Zach, despite that he was a guy and a complete stranger, but he hated even more that he had liked it more than when Ron kissed him.

_Aw shit! I don't want to think about this anymore!_ He finally made it to the front door of the mansion, giving the knocker a quick swing before waiting for a servant to answer the door. Soon enough, one of the maid's, still dressed in her night gown with a robe thrown over it came to answer, showing slight surprise at his presence.

'Young Master – why – we didn't expect to see you home till tomorrow.' She exclaimed lightly; Draco didn't feel like explaining a reason, or making up one for that matter, and simply walked past her and headed straight for the staircase. She didn't dare call out after him, for fear of waking up others still asleep inside the manor.

He forced the door open to his room, shutting it tight behind him before making his way sullenly over to his bed and immediately plopped down face first on the soft, bouncy mattress. He closed his eyes and tried to force out the thoughts flooding his mind; all he wanted to do was to just sleep and not think about anything – not about Ron, not about Zach, and definitely not about the possibility that he, Draco Malfoy, was homosexual.

**----- Chapter Nine -----**


	10. Chapter 10 : Not The First Time?

Sorry – had a bit of a plot stopper with this one… this is what I get for planning the beginning and the end, but improvise on the middle part. X-x

Anyways – enough waiting…

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved.

**Rating:** M (mature) for later chapters

* * *

**----- Chapter Ten : Not The First Time? -----**

The bell seemed to be pounding against his head as it rang, signaling the end of classes and the end of school for the day. Draco massaged his temples gently, as he gathered up his stuff and began to pace out the door; this past weekend had to be the worst three days of his life. Aside from the violation on Friday by a certain redhead jock, he had been battling with himself all weekend and he still didn't have an answer for himself. Draco paused in the hallways as he stared down at the floor; he hadn't wanted to admit it, but he liked that kiss with Zach – and as if to worsen the feeling, he wouldn't mind if the older man were to kiss him again.

The blond cursed in his head, before storming down the hallway; he wanted to get out of school as quickly as possible – he was not in the mood to deal with Blaise after he ran out on him Saturday night, and he didn't feel like trying to feign passion with Pansy. His train of thought stopped with that latter feeling – did he really feel no passion for women at all?

'Draco!' The Malfoy heir froze at his name being called, risking a glance over his shoulder to see just the very two people he had hoped to avoid. Blaise had a frown on his face as he made his way to where Draco was standing, Pansy following closely behind his heels, a worrisome expression on her face. The blond didn't say anything, quickly heading towards the doors of the school building hoping to lose them, but they stuck closely behind him. He just stepped foot out of the open doors before he felt a rough grip trap his wrist, letting out a frustrated sigh not facing the dark complex teen standing behind him.

'You are in so much fuckin' trouble for that shit stunt you pulled on Saturday.' Blaise spat out, Pansy glancing between as a puzzling expression came to her face. Draco managed to roughly pull his wrist free from the other teen's grasp, giving him a harsh glare.

'And just whose bloody fault is that? If you hadn't dragged me out against my will, I wouldn't have to resort to that!' He retorted; Blaise bared his teeth at him, making a motion that he wanted to strike the blond across the face, but restrained himself. Pansy only looked between the two boys, at first confused on what was going on between the two before it clicked in her brain as she remembered Blaise's "nightly" habits. She gapped at him.

'You didn't… you dragged Draco out to a _club_?!' She nearly shrieked out, staring at the dark-haired teen aghast. Neither paid much attention to her as they tried to stare each other down, before Draco growled, turning on his heels and headed towards the gates of the school – he had no more energy or patience left to argue about this. But neither Pansy nor Blaise seemed to want to let him be, pacing after him to the entrance of the gates.

'How could you drag Draco out like that?! I'm his girlfriend for crying out loud!'

'Shut up! This is between him and me only!'

'Will you both just – fucking shut up!' Draco rounded, turning to face both of them with a glare, startling both of them. He rarely ever swore since his mother had condition him from an early to be polite and proper with his language, so it usually meant trouble when Draco did swear. Pansy and Blaise fell silent as they merely stood there and stared at him; a slight blush crawled to Draco's face, as he began walking away from them.

'Just – both of you, enough! I have enough on my mind as it, and it doesn't concern either of you!' He spat out roughly; he knew he shouldn't be blowing off the two only "real" friends he could count on, but they've put up with his abuse for years now and he's done far worse to Blaise then simply brush him off.

'Dear, dear – such a temperament for such a sophisticated young lad.' All three jumped at the voice, Draco tenses up at the familiar, sultry tone from behind him; he swallowed his breath, cautiously turning his gaze to the man parked behind him. Zach gave him a wink and a causal wave as he leaned one arm against the handles of his motorcycle.

'Yo – didn't expect to see you again so soon, young Malfoy.' A furious blush crawled across Draco's cheeks, stuttering slightly with his words as he tried to form a witty comeback for the other man, but nothing would come out. The dark redhead laughed, leaning back slightly in his seat, giving them all a smug grin.

'Ah, I see you're with your nanny again; and I can assume this little girl here is your girlfriend?' He questioned innocently; Pansy narrowed her eyes at the man, reaching out to take Draco by the arm possessively. Draco tensed up at the touch, not daring to pull his arm away, should it give the wrong impression; Zach noticed his tension, his grin widening as he let out a low chuckle.

'Jealous little thing; all I asked if you were his girl, sweetie.' Pansy clung tighter to the blond's arm, Draco, unsure why, was beginning to feel an uneasiness in his stomach. Why did the man have to appear now and in front of Pansy of all people; the grin on the redhead's face was stirring up emotions in his chest he wasn't willing to admit, and in the bright of day, he had a clearer image of Zach then he had before. The other man's hair was lighter then he thought it was, but still deep, rich wine color; the mole under his left eye seemed even more visible and only enhanced his effeminate appearance more. His tanned skin was flawless, without a mark or scar tainting the surface.

Draco felt his heart jump into his throat, turning his gaze down to the ground to avoid eye contact with the man; Blaise growled at Zach, the redhead giving him a curious glance as he tilted his head towards him.

'Still a little sore about that night?'

'I swear – if you had touched one hair on him…' Zach laughed, lightly touching a finger to mouth, giving the teen a seducing grin purely just to rile his tempers, which seemed to work as he noticed Blaise's hands shaking. The redhead pushed his bike up straight, kicking up the stand before kick starting the engine.

'It doesn't seem like your friends like me that much, Draco. So I guess I'll be seeing you.'

'Good riddance to you, bastard.' Blaise muttered loud enough for the man to hear – Pansy merely glared at him, her grip slacking a little on Draco's arm, the blond letting out a slight sigh of relief. Zach strapped his helmet back on, revving up the motor as he checked the road to see if it was clear. He paused a moment, before glancing back to the trio.

'Oh – before I take off, mind if I do one little thing?' He asked sweetly; a grunt from Blaise and a huff from Pansy assumed that it was all right; the redhead grinned and in one quick motion took Draco by the wrist and managed to pull the young blond onto the motorcycle, holding him across his lap. Draco yelped at the sudden action, Zach quickly pushing off the curve and sped off onto the road, leaving Blaise and Pansy staring wide eyed at the edge of the sidewalk.

Draco flailed a little, grabbing at the sturdiest object he could hold on to – which happened to be Zach's waist, freaking out a little before he could feel the speed of the bike slow down to a halt. Once the blond was sure they had stopped moving, he crawled off the other's lap, stabling himself on solid ground before he punched the other hard on the arm. Zach winced at the punch, but it didn't stop him from laughing at the look on the young teen's face.

'Are. You. CRAZY?! What if you dropped me?! You could've killed me!' Draco shrieked, not caring if people around him were staring at them strangely. Zach only waved a hand causally, before reaching for the spare helm he always carried, holding it out to the teen.

'Don't worry, I wasn't going to drop you – you're not the first person I've abducted like that.' He gloated slightly; Draco's breathing slowed to a normal pace, staring at the helmet being held out to him, before hesitantly taking it and strapped it on. He crawled on behind the older man, taking him by the shoulders; Zach smiled, before starting up the engine again and continued on down the road.

'… thanks though…' Draco managed to grit out softly, glad that the other could see the slight blush that snuck its way to his cheeks. Zach only hummed as he paced the bike at a steady speed.

'You should be a little more assertive – and you certainly didn't look like you were comfortable with that girl hanging off your arm.' Draco sighed as he turned his gaze downwards; he was running out of excuses to hide behind and lies just couldn't keep convincing him of the otherwise. A small groan escaped him, feeling the hint of tears stinging the corner of his eyes; Zach briefly glanced over his shoulder curiously, noticing the small noise from the boy sitting behind him.

'Something up?'

'… I… fuck! I'm gay… I just spent three years oblivious… I just… I wish I never figured this out!' Draco managed to blurt out, feeling a single tear escape him as the shock of realisation finally settled in. Zach sighed as he shook his head, reminding the blond to lean with him as he curved the bike around the corner.

'Look – you were going to find out eventually; might as well be now when you still have room to make mistakes then when you're older and it's not so easily fixed.' He reasoned; Draco leaned his forehead against the man's back, forcing the tears back as he grip tightened.

'Do you have any idea what this means for me? My father isn't just going to disown me – he'll kill me! His "reputation" is far more important then the life of his now realised _gay_ son!' Draco spat – Zach remained silent. They soon came to a stop infront of a small complex, Zach turning off the motor after he parked the bike in its usual spot; he pulled his helmet off, combing his fingers briefly through his hair to straighten it out, before turning to the blond teen still sitting on the seat. He gently tapped the helm, startling Draco a little before the fair-haired youth reached to take the spare helm off; it only struck Draco now that he realised he was not familiar with this area.

'… Where are we?'

'Figured you didn't want to go home after everything just now, and besides,' Zach reached a hand for the pointed chin, firmly lifting Draco's eyes to face him, before leaning to kiss him deeply on the mouth. Draco froze, feeling the man pry his lips apart with his tongue, using the advantage to slip it as he tried to encourage the other to do the same. The blond hesitated a moment, before he felt himself relax against the kiss, a slight moan escaping him as the taller man pulled away.

'You seem to have a lot of pent up frustration; have to let it out some way.' He whispered suggestively; a deep crimson flush spread across the blond's nose, nervously glancing away from the smothering brown eyes glazing over him. Zach only smiled, gently turning Draco's head to face him again, meshing their lips together softly as he snaked an arm around the small waist.

**-8-**

'S-s-stop…' The word only barely managed to leave his mouth, but it carried no meaning as a gasp and a moan escaped him. Zach ran his tongue along the nape of his neck, an arm held firmly across the teen's chest, his other hand down Draco's pants fondling the unmistakable hard-on. The chuckle sent a low shiver down the blond's back.

'Stop? But it's leaking, Draco – you sure you want me to stop?' His whispered lowly, feeling Draco arched his back against him; the smirk on the redhead's face widened, slowly releasing the teen as he sneaked his hand lower. Draco went stiff at the feeling, a sudden nausea coming on as a long, slender finger hovered lightly around his entrance. He let out a shriek, drawing his knees together as he quickly pushed himself away from the older man; Zach blinked at him, rather startled by the reaction. While he reasoned it was normal for someone to be scared their first time, this reaction was a little much.

He placed a careful hand on the blond's shoulder, the young teen flinching away from him as he gazed at him with wide, fearful grey eyes. Zach gently caressed his cheek, tenderly kissing the teen on the lips till he had finally calmed him down, Draco mumbling small apologies.

'I know it's natural to be nervous and a bit afraid, but that was just plain freak out.' The young blond turned his gaze away from him, finding a small corner of the bed to stare at; he hadn't realised how badly Ron had shaken him up till he felt Zach's finger touch him around his most private part. He jumped slightly at the hand gently massaging his thigh, startled moon grey eyes turning to face the redhead glancing at him tenderly.

'I take it – not your first time then with a guy?' The flush on his face deepened to an impossible dark red, turning his gaze downwards.

'... I won't push you to say anything, but, well… it might be good if you did, I mean –'

'There – was one guy before all this… he's the reason why I s-started questioning my-myself in the first place…' Draco stuttered out; Zach only sat silently as he awaited the teen to continue on, but seeing as the blond wasn't going to speak any further, he decided to do the initiative. A slender, tanned hand lifted the blond's chin up, full soft lips placing a gentle kiss against pale pink ones.

'Obviously not someone you like, since it left you with some bad memories.' He felt smaller slender hands dig into his shoulder, trying to weakly to push him away.

'It-it was unexpected… I didn't think he'd – I've never, and h-he just…' Zach hushed him with another soft kiss, gazing down at Draco with a tender grin. Draco was sure his face was on fire, he could feel the heat radiating from the deep blush covering his full face.

'Don't say anymore – guess I'll just have to take it really slow with you then till you get over the trauma.' He stated rather smugly, the tone sparking a slight annoyance in the blond at how the redhead had worded it. Pale grey eyes gave him an icy stare, giving Zach a challenging glance. The man only smirked, before leaning to recapture the blond's mouth with a much deeper, more passionate kiss.

'I won't enter you, but if you ever change your mind I'll pick you up in a heartbeat,' he whispered huskily against the small mouth; Draco shivered in a good sense, his grip on slender shoulders slackening a little. 'I'll even forgive you if you decide to fall me, young Malfoy.'

He boasted, receiving a harsh glare from the young teen; other then a growl that escaped him, Draco remained mostly silent before Zach continued to rain kisses on his skin, his hand resuming its place on the younger's cock which had gone soft from neglect. Draco's breath hitched, biting down on his lower lip to stop the soft moans from escaping his throat as the redhead brought him back up to hard. Whatever reasoning, or rational thoughts he had before today had been completely swept away by this man, and at least just for this moment, Draco found he didn't give a damn for the looming consequences of his new found identity, or for what this would be the start of his secret sex life.

**----- Chapter Ten -----**


	11. Chapter 11 : Tell Me What?

Woo! Go me! Finally!! After having little to no inspiration/motivation to write, I FINALLY got something produced! ~yay~

Now then – hopefully I'll have more to come, and maybe I'll get to starting a new story or two (that _isn't_ related this AU's timeline…). Anyways – enough of my rambling, let's get to the chapter.

**Warnings:** This chapter _**DOES**_ contain male x male sexual content!! Read at your own risk!

**Rating:** M (Mature)

* * *

**----- Chapter Eleven : Tell Me What? -----**

Crystal blue eyes stared at the wall in front of him, Ron laying on his side on the bed while he awaited on his lover to return from the washroom; he bit down on his lip – he's tried telling himself over and over again that what had happened between him and Draco two weeks ago was a one time accident. A simple temporary loss of self control on his part; but no matter how many times the redhead tried to convince himself with these lies, it didn't stop the guilt welding up in his chest. He didn't just damn well rape the blond, he cheated on Cedric as well and was still acting as if nothing had happened. The sounds of the door clicking shut snapped him to attention, feeling the mattress sink behind him as Cedric sat on the edge.

Ron tensed slightly at the tender hand on his shoulder, quietly brushing the sandy haired teen off as Cedric tried to plant a gentle kiss against the younger's cheek. The older teen frowned slightly, before letting out a sigh as he withdrew his affections.

'Is everything all right, Ron? You haven't been yourself lately.' The redhead didn't say anything, biting down on his lower lip as he tried to turn his gaze further away from concerning grey eyes. Cedric sighed again, brushing aside flaming red locks from the other's face; despite his attempts to entice the younger teen, Ron just couldn't bring up the courage to do it with Cedric after what happened with Draco. It just didn't feel right to him.

'Did something happen at home? With your parents?' Cedric asked; Ron sighed as he reached a hand out for the one resting on his shoulder, giving it an encouraging pat.

'I'm fine, Ced – really; I just… have a lot on my mind right now, is all.'

'Care to talk about it?' The other prompted; the redhead made a small bitter noise – how could he talk about something like that. Even if Cedric claimed to love him as much as he did, there was no way he'd be able to forgive what Ron had done. He didn't answer him; Cedric let out a slight annoyed sigh, before shifting his weight around on the bed. Before Ron could peek over his shoulder, he felt the other grab him gently by the arm and pull him up to a sitting position; he let out a tiny noise of surprise as the older teen hugged him close to his chest, a slight blush coming to his face.

'C-Cedric, please – I'm not in the moo-'

'I know you're not – you haven't been for the past two weeks, but Ron – I know you; least I should hope I know you. You tend to keep your problems and emotions to yourself and you never let anyone help you – and I mean _any_one.' The blush on his face deepened, Ron glancing to a far corner of the room; was he really that predictable sometimes – true there were a few things he's never even told Sirius and Remus, and he probably went to them the most with some of his troubles. Cedric continued on, his embrace tightening a little around the smaller body leaning against him.

'Ron – I'm – your boyfriend, I want to be able to help you through anything – and I mean everything. I don't know what your last relationships were like, but – you're really special to me. I've never felt this strongly about anyone before, so I really want to be there for you, you know? To pull you through any sort of trouble you might go through.' Ron stared in slight surprise, reaching his arms hesitantly around the other's waist; Cedric rested his chin against his shoulder, gently rubbing his hand up and down the redhead's back.

'Everyone falls some point in their life – some more then others – let me be there to catch you when you do; after all, isn't that what a lover is suppose to do?' Ron held on tighter, burying his face into the lean chest as the tears began to form in his eyes. He had been worrying Cedric, and couldn't help but feel ashamed, but he couldn't tell him the truth – not just yet.

'I – I'm s-sorry.' He managed out softly; Cedric blinked as he pulled back slightly to gaze at the other's face, gently running his fingers through thick red locks. The tears came freely, feeling a tender finger wiping them away.

'What is it, Ron? You can tell me – I'll understand.'

'Cedric… I – I can't right now, just – give me some time to think about it, okay? I'm sorry.' Ron choked out; the sandy-haired teen only smiled, gently placing a finger against the other's mouth, softly shushing him. He whispered soft words against the younger teen's ear till the tears finally slowed to a halt, encouraging the other to smile a little as he gently caressed his cheeks. After a few minutes, Ron managed to give him a weak smile, Cedric returning it, before leaning in to place a loving kiss on tender lips; Ron tensed for a moment, before relaxing against the contact.

He felt a hand sneak under his shirt, slender fingers caressing his skin as they worked their way up his torso; the kiss deepened, Ron reaching his arms around the other's neck as their tongues met and began to tangle around each other. A rather loud, rumbling growl startled them both, pulling away from the kiss as a bright red flush appeared across Ron's cheeks, giving Cedric a sheepish, embarrassed grin. The fair-haired teen only laughed.

'Erm – sorry; guess I'm kinda hungry.' Ron admitted hastily, his stomach protesting with another loud rumble.

'Kind of is an understatement.' Cedric teased, slowly removing his hand from under the other's shirt as Ron pulled away from the embrace. The redhead cleared his throat, before standing up from the bed and began heading towards the door.

'Guess I should be going – Remus is probably wondering where I am right now.'

'I take it you're staying with them for the weekend then?' He asked; Ron nodded his head – it was habitual for him to spend the weekends with Harry at Sirius' house since it meant he didn't have to see his parents during that time. He had barely made it out the door when a pair of strong, slender arms encircled him around the waist, catching him off guard.

'Come out to dinner with me? My treat.' Ron glanced up at him apprehensively, trying with minimal effort to escape the other's hold on him.

'I-I don't know, I mean – it's not really necessary, Ced.'

'I want to – besides, it would be a nice change to eat out with you.' Ron hesitated a moment longer before agreeing to dine out with Cedric after some encouragement from the other. Cedric released him for a moment to grab a coat, his set of keys to the dorms and his wallet, before taking Ron around the shoulder and lead him out the door.

'So – where are we going to eat?' Ron inquired, as the other guided them off the campus grounds.

'Well, there's this little place not far from here; someone recommended it, but I have yet to try it out. Shall we go there and check it out?'

'Sounds good to me.' Ron answered light-heartedly, Cedric giving him a pat on the shoulder as he directed them down the street towards the little restaurant. It was a cozy little environment, and due the intentionally dim lighting, gave it a rather romantic and private feel to it; Ron couldn't help but feel jittery at the light touches, the occasional intimidate caress the other would sneak in this low light when no one was looking. The meal went peacefully, both boys enjoying their time with each other before Cedric paid for the bill and walked them back to the dorms. The redhead jumped slightly as the older teen laced their fingers together, not paying much mind to the people giving them odd stares as they walked by.

'Stay the night?' Cedric asked hopefully; a slight flush spread across Ron's nose, his grip tightening around the sandy-haired teen's as he glanced sheepishly to the side.

'I don't know – what about your roommate?'

'He's spending the weekend at his girlfriend's house, I don't think we'll have to worry about him.' Cedric answered with a slight grin, quickly and not so discretely leaning down to give a quick, loving peck on his lover's cheek. The flush on Ron's face deepened.

'Convenient.'

'Isn't it?' The glanced at each other briefly, before both laughed out a little to themselves; Ron leaned his head against the other's shoulder, ignoring the few glowering stares being thrown in their direction as Cedric lead them back to the dorms. The door had barely been shut behind them when the older boy swooped in to capture his mouth, a hand reaching down to cup his rear while the other sneaked up his shirt. Ron gasped slightly, reaching his hands up to tangle his fingers in fine, light brown hair; Cedric pulled away to allow them to breath, giving the redhead a tender smile before gesturing over to the bed. Ron only nodded his head, reluctantly pulling away from the warm embrace as he walked over to the bed, pulling off his shirt along the way; Cedric followed after him, doing the same thing, before kneeling on the mattress in front of the younger teen.

He took Ron gently by the shoulders, slowly leaning in to recapture the other's lips, but the redhead seemed to have different idea, placing his hands against board shoulders to stop him. Cedric gave him a pleading look, his voice coming out in an unintentional whine.

'Oh come on, Ron – don't tell me you've changed your mind?' Ron only grinned up at him, firmly trying to push the older boy to sit back.

'I haven't, I just want to do something for you.' Enlightenment replaced the puzzling expression on the oval face, Cedric sat back against the mattress, Ron crawling in between his knees. He kissed along the exposed tanned skin of Cedric's stomach, hearing the other's breath hitched as his mouth traveled lower, stopping just above the waist band of the older boy's pants.

'Y-you don't h-have to Ron…' Cedric stuttered out embarrassingly; Ron's grin only widened, glancing up at him as he made quick work of the button and zipper.

'I want to – I've been blowing you off for two weeks, you deserve something special tonight.' Ron answered; the blush deepened on Cedric's face, a slight groan escaping him at the feel of the redhead's hand on his growing erection. He let out a sigh once the other had released it from the constriction of his pants, letting out a slight gasp as he felt Ron kiss the tip of his cock.

'I've really been neglecting you too long; I've barely touched you and you're already this hard.' Cedric groaned as he leaned back on his arms.

'Talking about it is not helping…' Ron only chuckled in response, before tenderly running his mouth along the side of the hardening organ in his grasp; Cedric moaned, reaching a hand to tangle through bright red locks. The redhead continued to tease him, planting kisses along the flesh, occasionally peeking his tongue to lick the skin; the older teen above him was panting, his face heavily flushed as his lover continued to tease and taunt his cock, his grip on red locks tightening.

'Shit Ron! Stop bloody teasing me already!' The redhead only smirked at him, before taking him into his mouth at a teasingly slow pace. Cedric grunted, the hand in red locks gripping somewhat painfully as he tried to encourage his flaming haired lover to move faster. It didn't take much time, between Ron's earlier teasings and the fact it had been two weeks since they've sex, to bring Cedric to climax, his breathing coming in slightly heavy and short. Ron pulled back once he was finished swallowing, reaching a hand to wipe away the small bit of cum dripping from the corning of his mouth; Cedric gave him a rather sheepish look.

'Sorry, I-I couldn't hold it, and –'

'You'll get back up soon enough.' Ron silenced, placing a gentle finger against the other's lips, before replacing it with his mouth. A moaned escaped him at the taste of his own cum lingering inside Ron's mouth, his cock twitching to life as he reached his tongue to meet the other's. Ron pulled back from the kiss, Cedric groaning softly at the loss as dim grey eyes fluttered open to gaze at him; the redhead only grinned, looping his arms around the slender neck.

'See? Told you it wouldn't take much effort; I know you love.' Cedric gave him a playful smile, reaching his hands to pull the smaller frame onto his lap as he gently massaged Ron's rear, leaning into nip playfully along the freckled skin of his neck. The redhead let out a contented hum, as the older teen worked his mouth up to where the ear and jaw line connect, taking extra care to lovingly abuse that spot. Ron giggled at the feeling, stretching his neck to expose the area more to his lover.

'And I know you and your little quarks.' He teased, pulling away from Ron's neck to recapture his mouth, a hand reaching to undo the button and zipper of the younger's pants.

'It's going to be a long night, isn't it?' Ron asked once his mouth was free to talk; he pushed himself up with Cedric's help as the fair-haired teen shimmed his pants down his hips, tugging his boxers down as well. He only grinned at him.

'Maybe – guess we'll be putting our athletic stamina to the test tonight?'

'Oh I promise you, you're going to be so tired come morning, you'll be dreading even thinking about going to practice.'

'I'll hold you to bet.'

**-8-**

'Z-Zach! S-stop! It's-it's disgusting!' He pleaded weakly; Zach had no intentions of stopping – or of answering him for that matter. He never let anyone interrupted him during this kind of thing, it broke his concentration and rhythm – besides, he couldn't talk even if there was room to. The redhead was mildly impressed by the size the blond could get up to despite his small, frail body.

Draco shut his eyes tight, slender thin fingers gripping tightly at the soft deep wine locks; as promised, Zach didn't enter him, but the other things he did to him stimulated and stirred feelings Draco had never felt before. Pansy never evoked such strong emotions in him and all they ever did was kiss, but even Ron hadn't stirred up this much passion like Zach was doing – and the man was doing almost the same thing the jock had done to Draco a little over two weeks ago. His breath hitched, feeling Zach take his cock deeper in his throat; he felt that familiar tightening in his groins and he knew it wouldn't long before he came. The tugging on the man's hair became urgent.

'W-wait! Zach – I'm – I'm a-about –' But the man wouldn't listen, sucking harder on the blood-filled organ in his mouth; Draco threw his head back as he let out a strangled cry, releasing his cum into the other's mouth. Zach withdrew his mouth once he done, licking his lips as he stared at the heavily flushed face of the boy sitting in front of him. He reached a strong, sturdy hand for the blond's cheek, tenderly getting Draco to look up at him; pale grey eyes gazed up at him half-lidded, a smirk spreading across the man's face.

'You're lasting longer; not bad improvement considering we've only done this a few times.' The flushed deepened to a impossible red, spreading further over the pointed face; Draco brushed his hand away, drawing his legs together as he turned his back to the man, crossing his arms over his chest. Zach only laughed before crawling up behind him, leaning his bare chest against Draco's bare back, playfully nipping at the nape of his neck. The blond tensed slightly at the feeling, letting his arms fall to his side as he subconsciously stretched his neck, revealing more of his flesh to the man's mercy. Zach chuckled as he continued to kiss and nip along the skin, reaching his hands around the small body to taunt his nipples.

'Your neck is your weak spot, Draco. You should keep that in mind.' Draco couldn't answer, letting out a gasp as the hands on his chest played and pinched at his nipples. The redhead gave him one more kiss on the neck, before reluctantly withdrawing, snickering silently as a miserable groan escaped the young blond at the loss of contact. He stood up from the bed and held his hand out to the young heir, moon grey eyes blinking at him puzzled.

'Shall we get cleaned up? I doubt you want to head back home smelling of sex.' Draco hesitantly shook his head, before taking the man's outstretched hand; he tumbled a little as Zach pulled him up suddenly, sneaking an arm around the slender waist before leaning in to capture the younger teen's mouth. Draco quickly put a hand between them, making a small noise of disgust.

'Zach – that's gross!'

'We've kissed before – fact, I've had my tongue down your throat a few times.' Zach taunted; Draco flushed as he turned his gaze away, firmly whacking the man on the arm.

'S-shut up! That's not what I meant! You just swallowed my semen, and I hell don't want to kiss you after that!' The redhead chuckled, before placing a tender kiss on the blond's forehead and began walking them towards the bathroom on the other side of the room. Draco winced as the bright light flooded the room, reflecting off the clear white tiles; it took a moment to adjust his eyes to the brightness, blinking a few times till his vision cleared enough. Zach had already made quick work of removing his pants and underwear, standing in three-quarter view of Draco's eyes; the blond blushed when he realised his eyes had wandered to man's cock standing firm and erect. They never really showered together before, and Zach usually used it first to "take care" of himself; this was the first time he's seen the older man hard and fully naked. Draco turned his gaze to the floor, shyly covering himself with his hands as a sensation he's become familiar with began to stir in his chest.

Zach chuckled softly as he ran his fingers through his hair, before stepping into the shower to turn the water on. No matter how much the teen tried to deny it, Zach caught him staring at him and responding to his touches more then the blond was willing to admit; not that Zach minded. Draco by far was his youngest partner, he had never really been to concerned with age in the first place; after all if the other was willing, where was the wrong in that.

Once the water was at an acceptable temperature, Zach motioned with his finger for Draco to join him; the blond hesitated a moment, before timidly stepping forward. Feeling slightly impatient, Zach grabbed his wrist once he was close enough and jerked the blond into the tiny space; Draco let out a startled yip as he was pulled into the shower, being pressed up against the bold chest. He shivered as the slightly chilled water trickled down his back, silver blond hair beginning to damp and cling to his forehead as Zach reached a hand to shut the glass door of the stall. Draco barely got a word when the man tilted his head back firmly, crushing their mouths together in one quick motion.

Draco managed to pull away, spitting slightly as his back bumped against the knobs of the shower head; the redhead only smirked at him.

'Gross! I told you, I didn't want to kiss you after you –'

'Yeah, yeah – I heard you the first time, but do you really expect me to listen?' He asked innocently, sliding his hands up the walls of the stall, trapping the young teen between them. Draco glanced up at him nervously, fidgeting a little as the colour on his face deepened to a dark crimson red. Zach leaned his face close to Draco's, whispering huskily against his ear.

'I was half expecting you to protest showering together, now _I'm_ the one regretting I made the offer.' He whispered suggestively; Draco shuddered pleasantly at the tone, Zach lifting one hand away from the wall reaching down to grasp Draco's. Pale grey eyes gazed at him puzzlingly, not sure if he should be enticed or frightened by the smirk that suddenly spread across the man's face. Zach guided his hand to his straining cock, snickering as the seemingly permanent blush on the blond's face deepened.

'Stroke it – do it slowly though; I hate rush jobs.' He instructed; Draco hesitated a moment, before turning his glance away as he closed his finger timidly over the piece of flesh, slowly stroking his hand up and down the shaft. Least he understood now why Zach took so long in the shower after sucking him off.

'Stroke it harder.' Zach breathed out, supporting his weight against the wall; Draco bit down on his lip as he hesitantly tightened his grip slightly. The man bit back a moan, nuzzling his nose in the crook of the blond's neck.

'I want to fuck you so badly, Draco – but since I can't, I'll settle for your hand.' He whispered breathlessly against the teen's ear; Draco shivered slightly at the chills it sent down his back, his pace hastening slightly, but the man didn't seem to mind. Zach grunted, nipping at the blond's ear lobe at every stroke, every tug the other's hand did on his cock, biting down on his lower lip as he reached his release. Draco grimaced as he removed his hand, using the spraying water from the shower head to wash off the cum from his hand and stomach. Zach stopped his hand, grasping it tightly, before forcing his lips over the blond's; Draco protested, tasting the bitter flavour of his own taste on the redhead's tongue. Zach pulled back before the other had a chance to bite his tongue, licking his lips as answered the icy glare with a smirk.

'I should ask you to shower with me more often – that was pretty hot.' Draco scoffed, trying with some effort to push the man away from him – well, as far as he could in this small space.

'The next time you ask, I swear I will kick your arse so hard you won't be able to walk straight for a week!'

'Is that an offer?' Zach mocked, raising a fine dark brow at the young teen; Draco blinked at him with a confused glare before it sunk what he had just said. The blush deepened to almost black red, attempting to kick the man in the shin without trying to hurt himself in this tiny, confined space.

'You know bloody well that's not what I meant!' He near shrieked, Zach only laughing at him as he withdrew his hands from the tiles and reached for a bar of soap sitting on the tray above his head, lathering a bit of suds for himself, before handing it to Draco. The blond took the soap with a huff, glancing out the glass door as he began to lather it up and wash his skin.

'You're too easy to tease sometimes.' Zach said light-heartily; Draco chose not to dignify him with an answer and silently continued on cleaning. Once he was done, he opened the glass door and stepped out, leaving the redhead man still rinsing down his stomach.

'Aw, leaving already?'

'I have to get home soon, or my parents will suspect something.' Zach only hummed, quickly rinsing away the rest of the suds, before turning off the shower. He took two towels out of the cabinet in the corner, handing one to the teen, before using the other to dry himself off. Draco quickly dried himself, then walked out of the bathroom, pacing about the room to pick up his scattered clothing and dressed. Zach sauntered out of the bathroom with the towel around his waist, leaning against the frame of the doorway.

'Want me to drive you home?'

'No, that won't be necessary – I've instructed the driver to pick me up at one of my regular locations; it's just a short walking distance away from here.' He explained; Zach scratched the back of his head as he shrugged his shoulder causally.

'Well all right then.' Once Draco had dressed and checked around the room to make sure he was leaving nothing behind, he bid a quick goodbye to the man, before heading towards the door. His hand barely touched the handle, before he was spun around, heated lips locked over his in short, but well meant kiss. Zach pulled back with a smug look on his face, gently tapping Draco on the nose.

'If you get bored over the weekend, I'm usually around here between noon and four. Any time before that I'm sleeping – any time after four, I'm out working.'

'… you work on weekends?'

'Nah – just Saturday; Sunday's my day off.' He finally released his hold on the blond, Draco giving him a short nod before opening the door of the bedroom and headed out for the front door; Zach closed his door behind the teen, not bothering to see him out the front door. Draco never let him anyways, and right now he was just too tired to put any effort with manners.

He made his way over to the bed, dropping the towel from his waist before pulling the covers back and slid under the threaded cotton; he shivered slightly as the cold fabric shimmered over his skin, laying his head on the pillow as he reached a hand over to turn the lamp on the side table off. He stretched his arms over his head, snuggling into his sheets as he let his eye lids fall slowly shut, savouring the afterglow of climax and the sweet, alluring sensation of sleep taking over his body.

**----- Chapter Eleven End -----**

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More to come…


	12. Chapter 12 : Infidelity?

Yay – guess what… new chapter, that's what! Okay – so the Ron/Draco action is a bit slow – I meant for it to be this way, so… here's a little bit leading up to some of Ron and Draco actually interacting (mostly talking though…).

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature)

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**----- Chapter Twelve : Infidelity? -----**

The hallways were empty as usual around this time; classes were still in session and most students who did have a free during this time certainly wouldn't be spending it hanging around the corridors. Ron sighed as he peeked through the little glass window of the door, finding the room empty just like the last one had been; the redhead pouted to himself before heading down the hall. Why was he even doing this again – he didn't even want to see Draco Malfoy again; given it's been a nearly a month since their encounter and they've been doing everything possible in their wills to avoid each other, why was he looking for him now?

Ron kicked his foot against the floor; so perhaps he still felt a little rambling guilt for what he did to the other teen. He still hadn't told Cedric what he had done – he didn't think he'd ever be able to tell him – but had decided he wasn't going to let the incident ruin their relationship. It was a one time thing – a spur of weakness – and he wasn't going to let it happen again. Ron sighed again at yet another empty room; so _why_ was he looking for Draco._ Not like I bloody care about him… well, okay, so I guess I sorta – scratch that – __**did**__ rape him…not like he's going to forgive me even if I grovel and throw away my dignity._ He thought to himself; he knew Draco had this period free, but he hadn't found the blond in the usual spots he hung around and it was not like he could ask the other's "friends" to tell him where else the blond could be. Ron ruffled his hair in slight frustration – he just had to have a persistent conscious.

**-8-**

Professor Trelawney waved her hands about as she spoke of the arts, of the feel of the subjects and how those feelings should reflect in her students' pieces. Draco only listened with half his attention – he had heard this same, if not similar lecture last year; he was not an art student, nor was this one of his classes, but as along as he was quiet and kept to himself, Trelawney did not mind he was there. The blond wished he could've sketched else where, but he felt like painting once he was done with the sketch and it was forbidden for students to take art supplies out of the art room. Pale grey eyes stared down at the half finished sketch slowly taking form, his hand stopping as his mind began to wonder. It had been a while since he's done any sort of art and it felt relieving to have a pencil in his hand and a piece of paper in front of him. This past month had left him with too many thoughts and too little room for creativity; his "relationship" with Zach hadn't gone any further now than it had the first day he met the redhead. They never talked much aside from some witty exchange and maybe a few words here and there about their day; Draco was getting use to his touch, and the sensations he felt – the heat he got from the older man's touch – he had never felt that way with a girl. He was almost beginning to wonder how he ever managed to bring himself to kiss Pansy, when he had never drawn even a hint of passion from her.

'She is coming out quite lovely, dear – but watch the arms; you're drawing them too thin again.' The professor critiqued; Draco nearly jumped out of his seat at her voice, having been too lost with his thoughts. He looked between her and his sketch, before looking out to the students, seeing them all emerged with their task assigned to them. He glanced back at his own work, leaning back slightly to gaze at it from a distance – she was right. The arms were a little too thin compared to the rest of the body. Draco let out a slight growl as he reached for the eraser on the table, rubbing away the lines before redrawing them slightly thicker.

'No need to be frustrated – every artist has their little kinks; arms just happen to be your weak spot.'

'I've been drawing for seven plus years – one would think I'd get something as simple as that!' He muttered; Trelawney only hummed as she turned to face her students.

'Remember to romanticize your pieces – reading the stars tell very romantic tales; a wonderful form of art and expression.' Several of the students turned their heads to glance at her confusingly; Draco sighed as he dusted off the grime from the eraser off his paper.

'Please keep your side hobby separate from your main profession, professor.' He suggested dully; the professor didn't seem to take notice of it and began to walk away to weave in and out of her students to peek over their shoulders at their progress. She paused for a moment as she remembered something, before turning her attention to the blond working silently in the corner.

'Oh, before it slips my mind – there's an Artist having a gallery showing soon; I have a feeling you know her. I've seen quite some similarities between your style and hers; Nymphadora?' Draco froze at the mention of the name, glancing up at the professor with wide eyes.

'You don't mean – she's having a showing? Here?'

'Yes, but it's only for three days; the poster is on the bulletin board at the back. It's supposed to be a very exclusive showing, but I'm sure someone of your background should have no problems getting a ticket.' Draco stared at her silently for a few moments, before glancing away, hiding the disappointed expression from her.

'N-no, I don't think I have the time.'

'Pity – she's become very popular in recent years. Well, details are on the poster if you change your mind.' With that, she turned her back to him and resumed with checking on the rest of her students. Draco sat still as he gazed sadly at the edge of the desk – Nymphadora was one of his favourite artists; of course he had likings of the "dead" artisans from centuries past, but on the list of modern day artists – Nymphadora was top of his list. It was because of her work that really got him wanting to start art in the first place; he remembered the very piece he ever saw by her – she was still only locally known and purely by chance was able to have a small opening in a lesser known gala. He had gone with a friend and wandered off on his own, he turned around the corner and there he saw it – the colours, the positions of the characters, the composition had drawn him in and captured him. The emotions he could feel from it, as messy and rushed as it looked, he could tell it was from the heart and he couldn't help but to relate to it in some strange way; as if he had jumped into the painting itself and was there.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips; there was no way he could get a ticket without his father finding out. He had been strictly forbidden from art of any kind, let alone practicing it; he couldn't understand his father's dislike or dispassion for art, but he wasn't about to ask. Draco frowned at the sketch on the paper – he almost didn't have the heart to finish this one, but he took up his pencil with a heavy hand and tried to at least finish the outlines. He would have time later to clean it up and paint in the colours when he was feeling more in the mood.

**-8-**

The door had been left open slightly – not enough to peek in, but enough to hear the conversation inside; he supposed it luck that the blond was sitting so close to the door. Ron rubbed his chin in thought; he was surprised to find Draco hanging around the art room and even more surprised that the blond was actually interested in the subject. Ron scratched the back of his neck as the conversation played in his mind again; he should remember that name – Nymphadora. He felt like he should've known it, but he couldn't quite place where or who he might have heard it from. With that thought in mind and his new little discovery, he turned away from the door and headed off to fully enjoy the rest of his free before he had to go to his next class at next bell.

**-8-**

He had to stop staring at the poster – every time he did, it only deterred him more and more from doing any art. Draco sighed, before turning his back to the board; the gallery showing was starting tomorrow night and there was no way he'd be getting a ticket any time soon. He sat himself as far away from the back of the room as possible, keeping his back to the wall as he opened up the sketch book laying flat out on the table. He rummaged his school bag for the usual essential tools and his walkman; music was a good distraction for him and helped him get into a more creative mood when he was feeling down. The blond flipped through to find a blank page in his book once he had secured his headphones over his ears, hearing the soft classical sounds of the orchestra playing through the foam. He sat unaware of his surroundings, glad that for once he had a free during the time there were no art classes being taught. Draco sat blissfully unaware as his figure sketching began to take shape, not noticing the presence enter the room till they were right behind him.

'Wow, you're actually pretty good – surprising.' Draco yelped in surprise, throwing his hand back nearly hitting the person behind him; he was disappointed he hadn't as he glared up at the last person he ever wanted to see. Ron held a hand up in defense, seeing the disappointment in the blond's eyes that he hadn't been smacked in the face; while he felt that in a way he sort of deserved it, it still annoyed him.

'What are you doing here, Weasel? I didn't reckon you for the arts.' Draco asked, quickly covering his arms over his sketchbook – not that it mattered; the redhead had probably already seen most of it by now. Ron frowned at him, before moving a few paces away from the other teen.

'I was looking for you, but whatever.' He answered bluntly; Draco blinked at the teen puzzlingly.

'Why were you looking – I mean, what the hell do _you_ want?' He spat out; Ron only growled in frustration, throwing his hands up in the air before he moved to stalk out of the room.

'I knew I shouldn't have even tried!'

'Try what?' The question escaped him before he could stop; Ron paused in his tracks, turning his head to glance back at the blond with a slight glare. He reached a hand to scratch the back of his head, glaring down at the floor.

'Ah, I'm being bugged about how I don't have enough extra-curricular activities besides track, so I'm being forced to see an art gallery to "broaden" my horizons. Thing is – they gave me an extra one –'

'Then ask Pity Potter or that frazzle girl you call for a friend to go with you!' Ron had to bite his lip to keep from punching the other in the face; Harry rarely ever took heart to what Draco said about him, and Hermione – try as she might – was sensitive about her appearance, despite what she says otherwise. Even though she was not around, it still agitated Ron to hear the blond speak so rudely about his friends.

'Can't – Harry's got a date with his girlfriend and Hermione's going to be doing something with her family.'

'So why ask me? You think I'd want to go to a gallery – forget that – _any_where, with the likes of you? I think you've hit your head one too many times, Weasel.' Ron let out a frustrated sigh, before turning his back to the other teen and began heading towards the door.

'Fine! I'll go to see _Infidelity_ myself!' Draco froze at the mention of the word – Infidelity was the name of show for Nymphadora's artwork. Pale grey eyes watched the other's retreating back as the redhead disappeared through the door – Ron had tickets – _ticket__**s**_ – to her gallery tomorrow night. Draco placed a hand over his mouth – one hand, it was Nymphadora, an artist he had admire for so long and there could be a chance he could see her there – even if it was just a glimpse. On the other hand, it would mean going with someone he has viewed as a rival and his worst enemy in the world for most of his life. The blond sat as he weighed the two options in his head, before letting out a silent cry – why did something this simple have to be so complicated to decide?

Meanwhile, standing outside the door, Ron waited a moment while trying to calm himself down; one thing about Draco he was ridiculously predictable. The redhead froze at that thought – since when did the other become so predictable to him. He took three steps away from the door, before it jerked open, turning his head lazily to glance at the blond standing in the doorway, jaw hanging slightly open and moonlight eyes wide with slight bewilderment.

'You're… serious?'

'That's right – I've got no one else to ask, and I thought I try and be nice, but since you insist on acting like a prick –'

'Wait! I…' Draco grinded his teeth; he couldn't believe he was saying this to Ron of all people. '…I'm… sorry. I'll go, but mind you – this has nothing to do with you or the artist. I need some extra credit to pull up my other grades.'

It was a right out lie and Ron could tell, but he didn't peg the blond for it. He reached into the pouch inside his school bag, pulling out one of the tickets and handed it to Draco; the blond took it slowly from his hand, avoiding contact as much as possible, before gazing at it in his hands as if to see if it was real.

'Seven's the opening time – just meet outside the building then?'

'Fine, and you better be punctual or I'll head on in without you!'

'Yeah, yeah – whatever, Malfoy.' With that, Draco huffed at him and turned back into the classroom, slamming the door shut in Ron's face; the redhead only pouted crossing his arms over his chest before peeking in through the glass window. He could see Draco staring at the piece of paper in his hands with slight disbelief, before a huge grin spread across the blond's face, near bouncing about the room as he held the ticket in his hand. Ron couldn't help but snicker to himself at the behavior; he had never seen the other so giddy before and so excited – it was almost enduring.

Shaking his head clear, Ron walked away from the door – he had to go find Hermione or he'd be hearing from her at lunch. He promised to spend their free together so she could help him trudge through his chemistry report (though he didn't really see the point of perfecting it since the professor hated him anyways), and he would never hear the end of it if he stood her up – especially since it was a study session.

**----- Chapter Twelve -----**


	13. Chapter 13 : For Me?

First of all, I am _really_ sorry for not updating so long! I know I've said a million times I'd try to be more lineate with updating, but I've been on a major road block in all forms of writing. Thankfully, I've started to be more active on a writing forum I'm a member of, so that's helped a little getting me back into the swing of writing again (it's all mostly original stuff, but it's still good exercise).

I'm not gonna make another empty promise – if I'm faster with updates after this, then yay! If not, again I apologise for making the readers wait so long.

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved; maybe some slight OOC (Out Of Character)? Depends on your point of view

**Rating:** M (mature)

**-- Chapter Thirteen : For Me? --**

He was early, he knew that – ten minutes early to be precise; the doors weren't even open yet and he wasn't the only one waiting around for the doors of the gallery to open. Draco paced a little on the spot; he pray that his father would never find out about this – he was thankful for once that the senior Malfoy overworked, so the only person he really had to lie to was his mother. He used to be feel bad about deceiving her, but as Draco got older and she became more daunting, more controlling, he was beginning to use any type of excuse to escape her clutches.

Draco glanced down at his watch – five minutes left, and still Ron was nowhere to be seen yet. In all honesty, he'd be happier if the redhead didn't show up; Ron didn't seem like the type who could appreciate good art in the way Draco did – they didn't even appreciate the other's existence. However, it seemed he had hoped too soon as he easily spotted the trademark flaming red hair of the jock as Ron approached him. Draco frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

'You're late.'

'L-late?! Fuck, it's like – five to seven! The door isn't even open yet!' Ron retorted agitated; Draco only gave him a miff, turning his eyes away from him. Ron sighed as he rubbed his forehead – this was going to be the most excruciating night of his life if the other teen kept up this attitude. As they waited for the short time to pass, Ron caught his eyes wandering to the blond next to him; this was the first time he's seen Draco dressed in something other then their standard uniforms, and he couldn't help but feel slightly self conscious. The blond was dressed in a black, long sleeved turtle neck, the ends of the sleeves seemed to long so they were folded back; he wore dark grey semi tight slacks. Not tight enough to fit around his legs, but the fabric clung to his skin.

Ron glanced down at himself in his light khaki pants and sneakers; he had thrown a button-up causal shirt over the white long sleeves he was wearing. He's never been to a gallery showing before, so the redhead was unsure of how to dress and now he was beginning to feel that he should've probably dressed a little nicer then what he was wearing now.

The door finally opened and people began to make their way into building; Draco walked on ahead without him, Ron grimacing to himself as he forced himself to follow after the blond. He wondered if he could sneak away later and just leave the other on his own – he highly doubt the blond would miss him. They had barely gotten past the first room before Draco gasped out loud, putting his hands over his mouth to stop from squealing.

'Oh my god! It's the Mural of Song Sea!'

'Mural of whatis?' Draco glared at him as if threw out an insult, before grabbing him by the sleeve and pointed up at the painting in front of him.

'Mural of Song Sea – she's only ever talked about it! This is the first public display of it since its completion about a month ago!'

'Name plaque aside – how do you know that?' Ron asked curiously, tilting his head as he stared up at the soft, blue themed painting; far as he could tell, there was no relation to a sea or a song what so ever in it.

'Idiot – she talks about them in her interviews sometimes. She had described this piece as being a serenade, an image that would entice you like a song and yet engulf you like you were drowning in the sea – hence, Song Sea.' Draco explained, finally releasing his sleeve; Ron only looked at him curiously. True, he wasn't much for art, but even he could still appreciate good talent and skill – he just couldn't connect to the picture like Draco seemed to be doing now. They continued through the rest of the gallery, at first, Ron only listened to half of the things the blond ranted about for each and every painting they stopped at, but as they got further and further away from the newer artwork to a display of the artist's more older work, he couldn't help but find himself entranced with the blond's critiques, his praise – and the depth of his philosophy. They lingered the longest at one particularly old painting, where as most of the other visitors only gave it a quick glance before moving on to the next piece. Draco's entire demur changed as he laid his eyes upon the painting, and Ron couldn't help notice it.

'This was the very first painting I saw done by her – it's the very reason I got so interested in the arts.' Ron only gazed at him for a moment, before turning his gaze to the picture in front of them. The tones were dark, the style messy and seemed rush, but it fit the composure, the concept so well; it was of what looked like to be two men holding each other. One man was holding the other who was shedding silent tears – it was easy to tell something tragic had happened; yet, in the hands of the crying man, he seemed to be holding, the only part of the entire picture that seemed bright and – hopeful. Ron held a hand to his chest as a slight throb hit him in his heart – why was he thinking about the night he first confessed to his parents his sexual orientation now?

'It's not her most popular piece of work, but then – the least popular ones always tend to have the most impact if people would look at them properly.' Draco spoke up; starling blue eyes turned to gaze at him silently. He hadn't thought the blond to be so deep, given how he acted in school. 'You can tell she put her soul into this, even if it doesn't look as "_professional_" as her newer works. That's what makes this real art.'

'Well thank you for those words. I dare say, you're the youngest critic I've had yet.' Both boys nearly jumped out of the skins, Draco's eyes snapping wide open as he put his hands over his mouth.

'Oh god – _please_ tell me that's not who I think it is?!' Ron glanced lazily to the woman standing behind them; even if he didn't follow the art world, even he had to know who this woman was.

'Okay – it's not.' He humored; Draco spun around on his heels and Ron swore he was going to burst out screaming any minute.

'Ohmygodit'sreallyNymphadora!' He blurted out; Ron covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing outloud – the blond look near ready to wet himself from excitement. Nymphadora gave them a smile as she nodded her head, holding her hand out to both of them.

'That's what they call me, but I prefer to go by my last name, Tonks. I mean, really – who names their daughter Nymphadora in this age?' Draco took her hand hesitantly as he shook it, before she reached to shake Ron's; the redhead had a feeling Draco was never going to wash that hand again.

'So – enjoying the show boys?'

'Yeah, actually – I don't know much about art and stuff, but I can still appreciate a good painting.' Ron replied causally; Tonks only smiled at him, giving a small laugh as she nodded her head.

'Good to hear; it's nice to know that some of my work is appealing to younger folks. Though, speaking of which – how on earth did kids like you get tickets? They aren't easy to get and they sold out almost the first day of advertising.' Draco seemed to snap out of his daze at the question, before glancing over to the redhead questionably; he too had been wondering how the other had gotten the tickets, but he had mentioned someone gave them to him.

'Friend's guardian gave them to me – said he didn't have time to go.' Ron answered as he shrugged his shoulders; putting his hands in his pocket. Tonks put a finger to her chin as he let out a hum.

'What's your name, kid?'

'Erm – Ron, Ron Weasley.' A pleasant surprised expression came to her face, before she gave him a smile.

'Oh! Then you mean Remus? I had to send a pair of complementary tickets to someone I knew, and since my family is out of town, I sent them to him. Didn't think he would come.' She explained light heartily, but Ron couldn't help the slight guilt as he strained a nervous smile; he hadn't asked how the man got the tickets – they'd have to talk about that later. Both returned their attention to the blond standing next to them, having had temporarily ignored him; Draco was staring at them in slight disbelief, his jaw hanging slightly open.

'W-wait – let see if I understand this – one of Potter's guardians' knows Nymph – Tonks?!'

'Oh it was really long time ago; afraid Remus and I don't speak to each other much anymore.' Draco could only stare with wide eyes; he couldn't believe Potter had someone who was somewhat in close terms with his favourite artists – scratch that, he couldn't believe he was actually _talking_ with said artist.

'So – what about you?' Tonks asked, folding her arms across her chest; Draco blinked at her a few times as the question settled in.

'What?'

'What's your name?' For once, he felt his throat close up on him and he couldn't even answer the simple question; Ron seemed to have noticed the sudden loss of speech, a slight amused grin coming to his face as he crossed his arms.

'Draco Malfoy and I think seeing you this close has taken him into shock.' He teased, which seemed to have temporarily snapped the blond back to attention, Draco giving him a harsh glare in his direction. Tonks only laughed.

'You have to be the most excited fan I've meet.'

'I'm n-not usually like this; I'm more controlled – honest!' Draco excused, ducking his eyes down to the floor to hide the blush spreading across his nose. Tonks only laughed as she patted his shoulder in a friendly matter, before a thought crossed her mind. She glanced around the room quickly, before beckoning both boys to follow her; the two only blinked, but followed her to a reclusive backroom. There were a few loose paintings, some easels and a desk with a chair.

'I'm not supposed to bring anyone back here, but wait there a second.' Both boys stood in the middle of the room while she headed over to the desk, quickly rummaging through the bag sitting on top of it. After a few minutes she found what she was looking for, pulling a thick, hard-cover book before holding it out to Draco. The blond gave a quick glance the title and practically squealed so loud that it surprised Ron.

'Ohmygod! "Mirror de Miroir"!'

'It's a book…' Ron pointed out, staring at the cover of the book; Draco smacked him on the back of the head, before glancing back at the book in Tonks' hand.

'Git – it's not just a _book_; Mirror de Miroir is a collection of all her work from spring '91. This is super rare because there are pieces photographed in here she's never displayed before – and only twelve books were ever printed!'

'Technically thirteen if you count this one, but all those pieces are in storage, so I really don't need this.' Draco bit his lip as he looked between the woman and book.

'I couldn't… I mean, it's…' Tonks only smiled, waving it out to him.

'I don't mind; my director doesn't let me interact with my audience that much, so I want to do at least something for who might as well be my youngest admirer.' She offered; Draco hesitated a moment longer, before slowly reaching his hands out to take the book.

'Oh, wait! One more thing.' Tonks enlightened, quickly walking back to the desk to pick up a pen and opened up the cover of the book, quickly scribbling on the inside, before she closed it and handed it over to the blond.

'There you are – your own signed copy. This will be your exclusive since the others weren't signed.' Draco could've died right at that moment and not miss a thing as he took the book carefully in his hands, staring at it as if it were some sort of sacred treasure. Ron couldn't stop snickering at the other's behavior – while amusing as it was, it was also almost relieving to see that the blond was human underneath his attitude and his wealth; plus, it was almost too adorable to see Draco act like a child hyped up on sugar.

'Oh geeze – it's that time already?! We should get out, I've got to give a little "speech" and welcome the guests in five minutes. Enjoy the rest of the show, boys.' Tonks gave them a quick parting before heading out the door, leaving the two boys behind to let themselves out. Ron waited for Draco to come back down to reality as he was still staring at the book in his hands.

He couldn't believe it – not only did he get to meet Nymphadora herself in person, he had a rare collection book of her artwork _and_ her signature inside the said book. Draco had to use every ounce of willpower he had to not floor then and there – not when Ron was still in the room; he had humiliated himself enough for tonight infront of the redhead. He quickly cleared his throat, tucking away the book in his bag with great care, before heading out of the back room; Ron only laughed as he shook his head and followed after the other teen.

They had stayed during the speech (Draco almost fainting when she gave them both a wink from the platform), and lingered around till the closing time at nine o'clock. The carter ushered out the crowds, pressing at lingers and slow moes to leave or he'd use force to push them out. The chilly night air greeted them as they stepped out of the building; Ron pulled his outer shirt close, buttoning up the three middle buttons as they walked out to the edge of the sidewalk.

'Well that wasn't so bad – but let's get one thing clear Malfoy, this doesn't mean I'll be nicer to you from now on –' Ron barely got a chance to finish his statement when frail, slender arms suddenly embraced him around the shoulders, nearly falling over as Draco practically pounced him, his words coming out a mile a minute.

'Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!' Ron stood surprised as, unmistakably so, Draco hugged him, thanking him over and over again. It took a minute before the blond realised what he was doing, instantly pulling away from the redhead as he cleared his throat, his face showing he was just as surprised by his actions as the other teen was. Draco tugged at the collar of his turtle neck, turning his back to the taller teen to hide away the blush crawling up his face.

'That… this doesn't mean I like you any better, Weasel!' He spat out, unable to think up of a more insulting comeback, as he kept his back turned. Ron only looked at him for a puzzlingly moment, before moving to walk away.

'Um… you're welcome.' Draco didn't dare turn his head around to glance at him; he took in a deep breath and began walking away to head to the rendezvous point he had asked the driver to pick him up. Ron stood a moment longer then he should have as he watched the shorter teen's retreating back, before heading over to the nearest bus station he could find.

The hug had come out of nowhere, and he had been taken off guard by it – and the string of "Thank yous" the other had given him; it had been warm, the embrace. He didn't think he'd ever use that word to describe Draco in a million years; the blond always seemed so cold and uncaring even to his own crowd. Ron felt his face flush as his thoughts wondered away from him, quickly shaking his head to try and dispel them; he admit he saw a side of Draco he had never seen before, but it didn't make things any different between them. They were still enemies as far as he was concerned, and he was already in a happy relationship with Cedric.

A heavy sigh escaped him as he leaned up against the sign post; why had his heart fluttered for a moment when Draco hugged him?

**-8-**

He sat silently in the back of the car, gazing at the marked ticket in his hands; he still couldn't believe he had gotten up close and personal with one of the most influential and inspiring person in his life. He had been expecting to only get a glimpse of Tonks, but to actually be able to talk to her – and to top it off, he held in his possession a copy of a limited printed book with _her_ signature in it. Draco sighed as he leaned his head back against the seat, glad for the screen separating him and the driver; what he couldn't believe the most though was what he did earlier tonight after the show had ended. A slight blush spread across his cheeks, as he remembered his earlier behavior – he has never acted like that in front of anyone, not even himself; he highly doubt he's ever been that way even in front of his own parents.

Another sigh escaped him as he reached his arms slowly around himself; he couldn't deny it, but it had felt kind of nice when he hugged the other teen – oddly enough, it was comforting even though the redhead didn't hug him back. Draco almost felt like he was hugging a big teddy bear.

The car eased to a stop, Draco quickly snapping out of his thoughts as he shoved the ticket back into his bag; the last thing he needed was his mother finding out he had lied about where he'd be going tonight. The door opened before he could even raise a hand to the handle, the driver holding it open for him as he gave the young blond a short bow; Draco only offered him a short nod before stepping hastily out of the vehicle, tugging on the strap of his bag. Taking in a deep breath, he climbed up the stairs lending up to the front doors; why was he worried – it was only his mother and she believed almost everything he told her. He paused a moment at the door to calm himself down – he was getting worked up over nothing, and he knew exactly what to say even if his mother asked him how his outing went. Feeling a little more confident, he pushed the door open with ease, striding in his head held high and stepping with as much dignity as possible; he peeked into the parlor quick, relieved to find his mother was not there. Relaxing a little, he began heading towards the stairs to head up to his room. _See – worried over nothing._

'Welcome home, son.' Draco froze at the all too familiar and intimidating voice speaking from behind him. He tried to swallow past the lump that suddenly form in his throat, trying – hoping his face was not reflecting the fear he felt in his heart as he heard the steady steps coming up behind him. A light thunk on the wooden floor meant the senior Malfoy had rested his cane against the wooden floor, meaning he was standing directly behind him.

'F-father.' Draco managed to choke out, not daring to meet the other's eyes; Lucius remained silent before he began walking around his son, coming to a halt in front of him. Draco resisted the urge to drop his eyes to the floor, knowing it would give him away in an instant. Icy grey eyes peered down at him intensely and it was all he could do to stop from shaking under this unfaltering gaze.

'Where were you tonight, Draco?' Lucius asked calmly, folding his hands over to the top of his cane; Draco bit his tongue as he tried to keep his gaze with the older man. He hadn't expected his father to be home this early.

'I-I – I was d-doing a school p-project at a f-friend's home.' He finally managed to answer; the elder Malfoy only stared at him, his face unchanging.

'And which friend would that be, hm?' Draco bit down on his lip as he tried to pick the answer quickly – who did he tell his mother he was visiting again? Fine pale brows furrowed at the lack of immediate answer, Draco shrinking back slightly as he watched the monotonic face subtly change to impeding anger. Lucius let out a heavy sigh as he shook his head, turning his back to the young blond as he tapped the end of his cane on the floor.

'I am very disappointed, Draco – lying to your own mother like that, and for what? So tell me,' he glanced over his shoulder with narrow eyes and Draco swore his legs had just turned to jelly. 'Where were you really?'

He wasn't sure why he did what he did, but he just ran; Draco quickly turned his back to the older man and ran back towards the front door – he just couldn't be here, not when he knew what would happen if the elder Malfoy knew where he went. Lucius only banged his cane on the polished wooden floor.

'Chanya!' He called out; Draco didn't have a chance to escape as a girl not much older then him appeared out of the shadows, grabbing him by the arms. Draco froze as he stared up into lifeless black eyes – he knew this girl, even if he had only seen her a few times. She was his father's personal servant in training and rarely left the man's side unless he instructed her to.

'Search his bag, Chanya – surely there is a hint as to what my son's been up to.' She gave a silent nod, before removing one hand off the young blond's arm and reached into the messenger bag hanging off his shoulders. Draco tried to stop her hand from prying, but she merely pulled her wrist out of his grasp, giving him a blank stare as she reached out the flap. A threat of tears formed in dim grey eyes – if she revealed the book to his father, he had no doubt it would be burned on the spot; he could see she felt it, the vacant stare she gave him was evident enough. He silently begged her not to pull the book out, although he knew she would follow no one's orders but his father's.

She began retracting her hand, Draco closing his eyes as he felt the one precious gift he had ever gotten be destroyed in an instant. He opened his eyes, staring at the dark-haired girl surprised; Chanya held the marked ticket between them, her other hand releasing his arm and heading towards Lucius. For a brief moment, Draco thought he couldn't breath, tentatively glancing over his shoulder as he watched Chanya hand over the ticket to his father. Almost instantly sharp features furrowed into a harsh glare, Lucius roughly shoving the ticket back into Chanya's hands before striding his way over to where the young blond was standing.

'An art gallery – I should've known! Might I remind you that those sorts of frivolous things are forbidden in this household!' He breathed softly, roughly grabbing his son by the shoulder; Draco flinched at the touch, gulping his breathe as he stared up at his father. He wasn't sure what made him say it, but he did.

'I-I'm not some mindless doll for you to control; I c-can do whatever I wish to do! And art is not frivolous!' He added boldly, reaching a shaky hand to brush off his father's hand from his shoulder; he only had a second to celebrate his courage before Lucius struck him across the face, grey eyes livid.

'You will not talk back at me, young man! There are rules in this house and as long as _you_ live here, you _will_ follow them!' Draco brought his gaze back to face the older man; he must be asking for a death wish tonight.

'M-maybe art is something I want to do; I do-don't quite like the idea of becoming a soulless, lifeless demon absorbed in his own selfish greed.' He didn't even have half a second to gather his bearings as the cold, hard metal handle struck the side of his head; surprised, Draco fell to the floor, reaching a hand for his head as he felt something warm and sticky against his fingers. He jerked as the handle was struck hard against his back, biting down on his lower lip to keep from crying out from the pain; he buried his face in his arms as he felt another blow, then another and one more. He was shaking, not daring to lift his gaze up as the tears streamed freely down his face; he startled as the end point of the cane landed just inches away from his face, jumping back as his father kneeled down to the floor.

'Don't you _ever_ dare speak to me like that again, Draco. Or I promise you, blood or not, I will leave marks on you, you've never imagined possible.' Lucius threatened in a icy tone; Draco didn't dare face his father's eyes as he buried his head in defeat, trying to force the tears back. The elder Malfoy gave him a curt nod, before straightening himself up and began to walk away; he grabbed the ticket back from Chanya, tearing it into as many pieces as he could before carelessly tossing them in the air, beckoning her to follow.

Chanya nodded silently, but she lingered a moment as her gaze turned to the boy slowly beginning to gather himself together; Draco held his bag in his arms, hugging it close to his chest that he still had the book in his possession. Their eyes met briefly, lifeless black eyes bearing into teary grey ones; Draco wiped at his tears, silently mouthing "thank you" to her. For a brief moment, Chanya looked surprised – or as surprised as she could manage – before Lucius called for her again, turning her back without second thought leaving the young blond alone in the hall.

Draco sat for a few minutes to try and calm himself down, while he waited for the slight sting on his back to ease, before slowly standing up to his feet. Wiping away at his tears, he quickly headed up the stairs and up to his room, locking it shut without hesitation once he had entered it. Quickly toeing off his shoes, he practically ran towards his bed, near jumping on to the mattress as he held his bag tight to his chest; he sat there staring at the end of the bed for several minutes before he finally reached into his bag and pulled the book out. The blond marveled at the cover for a moment, before carelessly shoving his bag off the bed; he sat with his legs crossed, resting the hard-covered book on his lap as he eased the cover open.

His breath hitched seeing Tonks' handwriting right on the inside of the cover, almost tearing again at what he could've lost if Chanya had pulled out the book along with the ticket. Taking a moment to regain his composure, before he carefully turned the next page of the book, reading through all the text, commentaries and critics that was printed next most, if not all the paintings photographed in this journal. He wished he could've seen some of the originals, but he was content with just being to see them at all at this point. About half way through the reading, he began to wonder why he stood up to his father like that; he had never, in the past ten years of his life, ever talked back to his father like that.

Draco paused with his reading as he simply stared at the pages; that was the most true he had ever felt in his entire life, but why tonight, after a life time of abuse, did he finally speak up against Lucius. That question was up there along with – why did he practically pounce Ron like that, and how could he have lost his composure like that in front of rising artist like Nymphadora. Moon grey eyes gazed off to the side as his mind replayed his behavior tonight – perhaps it was because Tonks didn't know him, because she was a complete stranger to him that he acted the way he did in front of her; but Ron was still there. Draco groaned as he rubbed his forehead – the redhead was never going to let him live that down, and he was sure he had given the thick-headed jock some good black mail material to use along with a good laugh. _Why me… and he knew I wouldn't say no to Infidelity…_ Draco pondered to himself; Ron could've easily gone with anyone else – he was popular enough to have friends besides Harry and Hermione… so why did he ask Draco, his worst enemy in the world?

The blond fell back against the mattress, letting out a slight growl; why had Ron asked _him_ to go with him to the show, and he highly suspected that the redhead _hadn't_ been nagged about not having enough "extra-curricular" activities on his list. Ron didn't have to go, he didn't have to go out of his way to get two tickets, he didn't have to come to the show with Draco – yet he did; he knew Draco was into art, he knew he liked Nymphadora's works, and he _knew_ he wouldn't say no to a hard to get ticket to her show. Draco felt his mind was going to burst trying to figure out the answer – the redhead knew him better than any of his "friends" did, even if it was only just a small part of him; of course he's shared his passion for art with Blaise and Pansy, but Pansy was the typical spoiled rich daughter and merely brushed off whatever Draco had to say about art. And Blaise – it was Blaise, the guy who partied from nine to four when time allowed it. Draco sat back up as he tried to refocus on "Mirror de Miroir", shoving the nagging questions to the back of his mind, but he still couldn't get over the one fact that shone through all this.

'… Weasley could've not gotten the tickets at all and yet he did… for… me?'

**-- Chapter Thirteen --**

I know the story is not fast paced, but I had intended it to be this way; whether I'll decide to sped it up or not, is on for debate. Thank you for reading and again – sorry for the long wait. 


	14. Chapter 14 : The Real Me?

Soo much to catch up on - I should finally be getting my shitty ass moving on this as I'm finally caught up to the point I know what's actually going on, so - hopefully more updates to come soon.

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature)

* * *

**-- ****Chapter Fourteen : The Real Me?**** --**

He rubbed his finger tips against the sides of his head, his pencil hanging loosely between his fingers as he glared at the work spread out in front of him. Why was he doing this again – this particular assignment wasn't even due in until Wednesday, giving him almost a full four days to complete it. Ron sighed as he let his eye lids fall shut; he knew why he was doing this and it wasn't working. The redhead couldn't stop thinking about Friday night at the art show – more specifically, he couldn't stop thinking about Draco's behavior. Ron ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to focus on the problem printed on the paper resting in front of him; why couldn't he concentrate on all the blond's bad points when these recently discovered good points kept clouding his judgment about the other teen. They have been at each other's throats for as long as Ron could remember, and never once had he ever thought something good about Draco; a flustered sigh escaped the redhead, tapping the eraser end of his pencil against the bed. The Draco Malfoy that was exposed at Infidelity – was that just the surface peek of the _real_ Draco Malfoy?

A knock on the door jolted him from his thoughts, glancing over to the bedroom door.

'It's open.' Ron called out, speculating who would walk through that door; his face lit up as Remus poked his head around the corner, giving the young teen a cheery smile.

'Well, this is rather a surprise – you're doing your homework.' The man teased; Ron gave him a defensive pout, crossing his arms over his chest.

'I do my homework on the weekends… sometimes.' Remus laughed as he closed the door behind him, stepping into the room. It had become a habit having the young redhead over during the weekends – so much so, that the once unused guest room had turned into a fully functional bedroom for the teen. Even the dresser in the corner had a few of Ron's clothes incase he had forgotten to bring extras.

'Mmhm – and that sometimes usually means there's something on your mind you don't want to think about.' Remus stated bluntly; the tip of Ron's nose turned a slight pink, quickly glancing down at his assignment to avoid eyes with the older man. Remus sighed as he made his way over to the bed, carefully sitting on the edge so is not to disrupt the papers spread out across the bedding. Ron still avoided his eyes, trying to look as if he was concentrating on solving his homework problem; Remus leaned over a little to glance at the word problem giving the redhead a hard time.

'It would be two-thirds.' He stated after reading over the problem; Ron jolted his head up to glance at the man, blinking at him curiously.

'Huh, what?'

'The starting point for your answer – it would be two-thirds, but that's about as much as I'll give you. You'll have to figure out the rest on your own.' Remus plainly stated, pointing to the paper; Ron shook his head clear giving the dark-haired man a nod as he tried to refocus on the solving the rest of the problem with the hint given to him. Remus sighed, reaching out a tender hand to pat the young teen on the head, making the redhead glance up at him. The smile showing through hazel gray eyes made Ron tense, knowing what was coming.

'So – what's on your mind? And I know it isn't homework.' Remus asked gently; Ron didn't answer him, letting out a sigh as he shoved his work aside to allow the man more space on the bed. Remus shifted his weight more to the center of bed, sitting in front of the teen as he stared at him expectantly.

'Well? Not going to answer me? Or would you rather I have Sirius come in and force the answer out of you?' Ron tensed at the thought of having Sirius being the one pestering him about his problems and worries – he liked the other man and all, but there were moments when Sirius could be a tad bit over bearing. Giving in, Ron ran a hand through his hair, bringing one knee to his chest.

'It's just… ha-have you ever – caught yourself staring at someone else? Even though you're already in a relationship?' He asked tentatively, not daring to meet the man's eyes as he asked his question. Remus blinked at him a moment, before giving him a causal smile.

'Well, to be quite honest, I'm fairly confident Sirius could give you an answer to that.' He joked earning a slight laugh from the redhead before the teen went silent again, picking at a pattern on the comforter. Remus put on a serious smile as he reached a hand out for Ron's shoulder.

'Is that what's bothering you?' Ron nodded his head as he brought his other knee to his chest, burying his chin against them.

'There's… a guy at school – I can't seem to stop thinking about him lately, but I – I'm already in a relationship, and I, well…'

'Ron – you're perfectly healthy, teenage male and to be quite blunt, it's quite normal for your attention to wander like that. Honestly, I think it's something that you don't really outgrow,' Remus began, giving the boy an encouraging look. 'I know Sirius loves me and that he is completely devoted to me, but even I catch his gaze wander to a woman once in a while, but that's all it will ever be – a passing glance.'

Ron had to bite his tongue to keep the bitter laugh from escaping him – he had done just more than a "passing glance" at the blond, but it was something he wasn't willing to admit to the older man – or to himself. A sigh escaped him as the redhead buried his face in his arms. He felt Remus give him an encouraging pat on the head, slowly lifting his gaze up to face the man, seeing the friendly smile on his face.

'I wouldn't worry too much about it, Ron. You'll see – it'll probably pass soon enough.' Ron gave him a half smile as he nodded his head; Remus gave him a light tap on the shoulder, before standing up from the bed.

'Dinner at seven all right with you?' The dark haired man asked stopping at the door; Ron gave him a brief nod as he began gathering up his school papers.

'Yeah – sounds good.' Remus gave him a smile, nodding his head before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. Ron adjusted his position on the bed, feeling slightly relieved after his brief talk with the man, but still feeling uneasy about his emotions towards Draco. He shook his head, reaching out to gather his papers together, before setting them aside; he wasn't going to think about it. He didn't care about Draco, nor was he going to admit feeling anything remotely friendly or warm towards the blond; he was already happy with Cedric, and besides – it wouldn't surprise him if the rich prat went back to his old self and greeted him with an insult on Monday, as per usual. Ron let out a sigh as he fell back against the mattress, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

_Bloody like I care – I've done my good deed; he's a git anyways…_

**-8-**

He snuck through the side gate of the school, avoiding the main gate – he wasn't particularly looking forward to facing Blaise, and he didn't feel like having Pansy pester him as she had been lately. Another reason was he didn't feel like facing a certain redhead athlete so early in the morning; Draco rubbed his forehead gently. He still couldn't understand the other teen, and while he had somewhat come to the conclusion that he was gay, he didn't want to admit the unusual attraction towards the other. Draco shook his head, running his fingers through his hair; Ron was a jerk, hot-tempered and a walking ignoramus – there was no way he'd ever see eye to eye with the redhead on friendly terms. His thoughts paused as his mind wandered back to the weekend, back to the night of the gallery; he still couldn't deny that Ron had gone through all that trouble just for him, but he couldn't help feel that there had to be a catch to it. He wouldn't have done that for nothing, and that worried Draco a little.

Silver grey eyes snapped to attention as he turned around the corner of the building, eyeing a familiar curly-haired girl sitting at one of the few outdoor tables, nose buried in a book as usual. A grin came to the blond's face as he headed over towards her – cruel as this was, he needed something to lift his mood.

'Careful there, Granger – get too close and you might end up shredding the pages.' He sneered out; Hermione only lifted her head briefly to glare at him, but he could see her tighten her mouth, as if trying to hide her braces. He knew it was low to strike her at the thing that bothered her the most, but he couldn't help the slight satisfaction he felt at her discontent. The dark-haired girl ducked her eyes back to her book, making an effort to ignore him, but Draco could tell his words were making it difficult.

'Oh I'm sorry, was that not your choice career? Don't worry I'm sure the railroad company is always looking for spare tracks.' He added with a slight laugh, noting that the other girl was shaking ever so slightly; he knew he shouldn't be attacking her when there was no one around, but he wasn't in the mood of playing fair.

'Honestly, don't you have any better hobbies?' He froze at the voice behind him, not daring to turn around to face the other student; he knew who it was. Hermione glanced up from her book, giving a silent nagging scowl to the redhead as he causally passed by the blond. Draco narrowed his eyes as Ron simply pushed past him, the two standing eye to eye, before the shorter cursed under his breath, turning around on his heels and headed up towards the school entrance. Ron watched him leave with a blank expression on his face, before letting out a sigh as he moved to sit down next to his friend; just as he thought – Draco had not changed at all since the weekend. Hermione glanced at her friend in slight surprise.

'Are – are you feeling all right, Ron?'

'Huh? Yeah, I'm fine… why?' He asked, looking to the girl questionably; Hermione shrugged her shoulders, turning the page of her book.

'Well – usually when Malfoy shoots off at me like that, you grab him by the collar and spit in his face.'

'I do not! Well – not the spitting part, at least.' He corrected, reaching a hand to scratch the back of his neck as he looked away; Hermione only gave him a soft smile, reaching out a hand to gently knock him on the side of the head, earning her a confused look from the other teen. Ron blinked at her a moment, before giving her a smile, gently batting her hand away.

'Well, least you're learning to control your temper better.' She teased, withdrawing her hand away. Ron only snorted, leaning his back against the edge of the table as he stared up at the sky.

'Oh funny – I can control my temper when I want to.'

'Which is not very often, you know.' She countered; Ron only gave her pout, before reaching out to grab her book. Hermione yelled at him softly, trying to reach over to take her book back, but Ron held her at bay with his arm, while holding the object far out of her reach with the other hand, teasing this was her punishment for making fun of him.

**-8-**

Draco peeked around the doors, glancing over to where Ron was fooling around with Hermione, seeing the dark-haired girl standing up in attempts to retrieve her book back. Pale cold eyes watched them for a few minutes, before turning away, moving away from the doors; Draco headed down the hallway, adjusting his bag strap resting on his shoulder. He'd be stupid to say he hadn't been expecting Ron to show up to defend Hermione, but he certainly hadn't expected the redhead to brush him off so casually. The blond paused in his tracks, staring down at the floor as he put a hand over his mouth; he had never noticed before, but standing so close to the redhead in the light of day, he couldn't help but see that Ron had very strikingly bright blue eyes. He wondered why he had never noticed before – they stood out even more then the trademark flaming red hair on his head; course he reasoned he had never really paid much attention to the other teen. Just because it was routinely for him to insult and taunt the other and his friends, didn't mean he always paid attention to little details – like what colour Ron's eyes were. Draco let out a silent frustrated growl as he scratched the side of his head; why was he suddenly being so aware of the other's presence – his thoughts were interrupted by the first warning bell ringing clearly throughout the halls. Draco gathered himself together, flustering a moment as he tried to remember what his first class was for the day, before remembering and headed for the appropriate classroom.

The day seemed to pass in a daze to him, though he was glad he only had to suffer through one class that he shared with the redhead, both boys ignoring the other's presence, but that suited him just fine. The final bell rang and Draco let his breath out, thankful that the day was final over; he quickly gathered up his stuff and paced out of the classroom, heading out of a side exit instead of the usual main doors. He let out a sigh of relief, pondering what to do with himself for the day, since his mother was most likely out with some friends right now, since Mondays were usually her "social" days. He had barely gotten to the side gate, before hearing someone call out to him, feeling a hand grab him roughly by the wrist.

'Let go, Blaise!' He demanded, turning around to give the darker teen a sharp glare; Blaise only held on tighter.

'Not until we've talked – what the fuck is going on with you? You're like a fucking wall lately!' Draco struggled till he finally got his wrist free from the other's grip, drawing his hand back.

'I don't need to explain myself to you – you're not my care-giver!'

'At least give me a fucking straight answer! Did you, or did you not, figure out if you're fuckin' gay or not?' He asked harshly; Draco didn't say anything to him, turning his back to the other teen as he began walking away. Blaise growled as he followed after him, grabbing the blond roughly by the shoulder.

'Answer me, Draco! You know I don't give shit if you are or not! But what about –'

'My, my – such a dirty mouth – I don't think even _I_ swear that much.' Both boys froze before looking towards the gates, eyes resting upon a familiar face; the man waved a hand causally to both of them, a smug grin on his face.

'Yo – long time no see, nanny.' Draco jerked away from Blaise's hold, approaching the older man.

'Zach… what are you doing here?' Draco asked tentatively; the redhead only smirked, pushing himself away from the stone wall, reaching an arm around the slender shoulder as he leaned down to plant a kiss on tender lips. Draco made a small noise in surprise, a deep blush spreading across his nose as the older man pulled away, neither paying attention to the dark-skinned tan staring at them with his jaw open a foot to the ground.

'Haven't seen you these past few days – I missed you,' he leaned down close to the blond's ear, probing the tip of his tongue at the ear lobe, Draco letting out a small 'ah' at the feel. 'And I missed seeing your cute face lost and drowning in ecstasy.'

Draco was sure his full face was red, staring down at the ground to avoid eye contact with the man, as he heard him laugh softly in his ear. 'Do you have wet dreams about the things I can do to your body?' Zach whispered suggestively in his ear; Draco reached a hand up to his ear, trying to rid of the ticklish sensation the other was causing in his body.

'O-oi! Do – you fucking mind?!' Medium brown eyes gazed up to the dark-haired teen standing before them, hands curled into fists and visibly shaking; Blaise gritted his teeth trying to remain as calm as possible, and not run over and punch the redhead in the face at the shameless display he was showering his friend with. Zach only glanced at him with a causal frown, not removing his arm off Draco's shoulder.

'Oh, I'm sorry – you're still here?' He taunted causally; Blaise snarled before charging at him. Zach simply smirked at him, before pulling himself and Draco out of the line of fire; the action seemed to have snapped the blond back to attention, Draco quickly removing himself from the man's arm before reaching to catch the other teen by the wrists, glaring at him.

'Stay out of this, Blaise!'

'Don't fucking tell me you've been seeing this fuckin' bastard?!'

'So what if I am?' Draco challenged, letting Blaise go once he was sure he had gotten the other's attention; raging dark eyes only glared at him in disbelief.

'Are you fucking out of your fucking, shitty mind! If you're going to fuck around with a guy – what about Pansy? Have you even told her yet?' He questioned; Draco didn't say anything, drawing away from the other teen, backing himself up till he could reach out for Zach's hand. The older man only blinked as the young blond grabbed the sleeve of his jacket.

'I… I'm going to break up with her tomorrow.'

'Wh-what?'

'And I'm entitled to see whomever I want – I don't need you telling me who to date and who not to!' Draco tugged at his sleeve, Zach picking up on the hint as he started heading out the gates, reaching into his pocket for the keys to his bike. Blaise only stared with his jaw hanging open, reaching out to grab Draco by the arm, but the blond immediately smacked his hand away.

'I don't like this guy – how can you even trust him?!'

'You're not my mother, Zabini! So stop telling me what to do!' Draco yelled over his shoulder, before rushing after Zach, crawling onto the seat behind the man; the redhead past him the spare helm he always carried before strapping on his own. He kicked the motor to life, feeling thin, slender arms encircle his waist; he kicked the stand up before pushing off the side and sped down the road, ignoring the string of curses trailing behind them as they faded into the background. Draco tightened his hold around Zach's waist as he buried his face against the other's back, biting down on his lip.

'Oi, oy don't squeeze me too tight – I'm not a fruit, you know.' Zach teased light-heartedly, but Draco didn't laugh; the older man sighed, carefully reaching one hand for one at his waist, gently loosening the grip. The action seemed to snap the blond out of his daze, slackening his grasp as he muttered an apology.

'Sounds like you have a lot on your mind today – care to talk about it? It doesn't really help the mood if your attention is elsewhere.' He consoled seriously; Draco only hummed in response, watching the scenery pass by in a blur. There was too much on his mind he didn't understand and he still didn't have a clue on where to begin to solve anything.

'… I… I'm so confused… I don't even know where to start…'

'All right – let's start with future problems – you're girlfriend; what are you going to say when you break up with her?'

'I'm just going to tell her the truth…'

'Ha? That's a bit anti-climatic, but well – how do you know she won't squeal out of vendetta?'

'She won't – she won't do anything that doesn't directly benefit her, so her telling the entire school I'm gay won't do anything for her in any way.'

'Keh – you're endless confidence, even in the face of confusion, never ceases to amaze me.' Zach teased lightly, giving Draco's hand a squeeze, before letting him go and placed his hand back on the handle to turn the corner. Draco didn't say anything as he simply sat there, leaning against the other's back; he wasn't looking forward to telling Pansy the truth, knowing he was going to get a good smack in the face for it, but he didn't feel comfortable trying to put up a front with her. He had never been able to show even a shimmer of his true face, and he had gotten tired of the façade – of this mask he had been wearing for so long, it had almost felt natural to him. An odd smile graced delicate features, somehow his chest felt lighter despite that his head was drowning in questions; he wondered if this is what it was like to feel … "normal" – the feeling was… liberating.

**--- Chapter Fourteen ---**


	15. Chapter 15 : What?

Hello!! I have news!! I'm… officially in COLLEGE!! Woo! Yeah… so my schedule is like… crazy insane, and I'm surprised I'm still alive after the first week (well, okay – so it's mostly introduction stuffers, but still…) so I don't know how often I'll be able to get time to myself to causal write as the year goes on. So I'm getting whatever writing I can done now (and I still have homework to do e_e yay for Labour Day!).

Oh yes – and look for some new stuff… I think, I'm planning to put them up eventually… eventually.

Onwards from my boring crap!

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature)

* * *

**---- Chapter Fifteen : What? ----**

'Hey Weasley – a moment, if you can stand to spare it?' Ron looked over his shoulder at the dark-hair teen, before glancing back to Hermione and Harry; the two only shrugged, Hermione giving him a nagging glare. Ron sighed, before looking back to the other, nodding his head; Blaise only huffed, gesturing to the side of the building, before walking off.

'I'll be right back.'

'Try not to punch him in the face.' Hermione nagged; Ron only smiled at her, not giving her any promises, but he'd try not to depending on what the other teen wanted. Getting up from his seat, he followed after Blaise in silence, the other stopping with his back to the redhead. Ron stood silently watching the other boy's back, admittedly somewhat curious as to what Blaise wanted – while he wasn't as vocal as Draco was, he disliked Ron just as much, if not more, as the blond did. After several minutes had passed, Blaise let out a huge sigh, crossing his arms over his chest, before he spoke.

'Look – I really wish I didn't have to resort to this, but I… fuck – I need a – a favour…' Ron blinked at the other boy, unsure if he heard that right; he took a few cautious steps towards the teen, keeping himself on guard incase the other lashed out him. Unlike Draco, Blaise actually knew how to fight and despite his elegant dark beauty, he was quite strong.

'I'm sorry – I don't think I quite caught that; could you repeat it again?' He taunted; dark black eyes turned to glare in his direction, the glint in them was menacing.

'Don't push your fuckin' luck, Weasley.' Ron only shrugged his shoulders casually as he grinned, taking a step back as he gazed steadily eye to eye with the other teen. A few minutes of silence past between them, before Blaise reached to gently rub the bridge of his nose.

'Look – this is the last of last resorts, and I'm out of options.'

'I'm listening.'

'It's like this – there's… this bastard Draco's started seeing, and –' Ron held his hand up immediately, moving to turn away from the other teen.

'You lost me; sorry, but I don't want anything to do with that stuck-up little prat.' He had barely taken a step when a rough hand grabbed him by the shoulder, glancing over his shoulder to glare at the dark-skinned boy holding him place.

'The least you can fucking do is listen to when someone is talking before you fucking shoot them down!' He gritted out through his teeth; sapphire blue eyes only stared blankly at the other, before the redhead let out a sigh, nodding his head reluctantly turning around to face the other.

'All right, so what? Is this in any way gonna benefit him or something?'

'In the long run, I'm hoping. Look, I don't like the guy he's fucking around with, but he's being a fucking bloody idiot about it.' Ron sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

'And – what does this have to do with me? You're his bloody "best" friend.'

'He won't listen to me, and I'm telling you this because… I – shit – I want you to keep Draco away from him.' Blaise forced out hastily, letting out a slight growl as he throw a glare off to the side; Ron only stared at him blankly, before letting out a sigh as he reached a hand to scratch the back of his head.

'Why me? If that git wants to mess around, it's his problem.'

'Because you're just as stubborn and pig-headed as he is, plus I know you won't pass up a chance to make him miserable – even for stupid shit like this.' He countered; Ron rubbed the side of his chin. He couldn't say he wasn't tempted in the least, but at the same time he felt this would be good punishment for the blond if maybe he got hurt emotionally, just as he's always been trampling others in a similar manner. Blaise watched the redhead's face steadily, before letting out a sigh.

'All right, so I lied – this is the _last_ of my last resorts; I'll _pay_ you to keep Draco away from that bastard.' The offer sparked Ron's interest, placing his hands in his pant pockets as he glanced at the other with slight interest.

'… how much?'

'However much it takes to keep Draco away from him.' Ron put a contemplative finger to his chin as he rolled the proposal in his head for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders, letting out a sigh.

'All right, fine – I'll do it.'

'He's name is Zach, Draco meets him after school pretty much every fucking day. Where they go after that, I can only speculate. Just make sure he doesn't get anywhere near that guy.'

'Yeah, yeah – just don't expect me to cover weekends; he's on his own then.' Blaise only hummed; Ron let out a sigh, briefly turning his gaze to the sky before gazing back at the other teen.

'So – when do you want me to start?' The question had barely been asked when a couple bills were held to his face, Blaise gazing at him a serious glare.

'Right this fucking minute.'

**-8-**

Ron stretched his arms above his head as he headed back to rejoin Harry and Hermione, trying not to think about the little bonus sitting his back pocket; it was one thing to be able to get back at Draco even at such a small scale, but to be paid to do so had a nice ring to it. Ron couldn't help the slight grin coming to his face, trying not to laugh outloud as he walked back to his friends; with graduation less then a year away, he'd need to save whatever money he could if he was going to move out of his parents' house. He couldn't depend on Sirius and Remus forever, and he knew he couldn't stay in his family's house after finishing school. A slight sigh escaped him as the smile slipped slowly away from his face; most people his age only had to worry about university and whether they'll get there or not, he had to worry about his lively hood and whether or not he could get a job to support himself. Although his professors and even some of his friends had tried to encourage him to at least look at possible universities, there wasn't any way Ron could support himself financially to finish it through. _Not like I'm good at anything else besides track, and even then – I don't plan on going pro._

Ron sighed, before reaching to fold his hands on the back of his head; he was beginning to wonder if he'd live to thirty with the way his life's been heading. Light blue eyes blinked in slight surprise as he arrived back to the table where he left his friends – he noticed they were one short. The redhead let out a sigh, silently shaking his head as he walked over to where Hermione was sitting alone, nose buried in her book.

'Hey – where'd Harry go?' He asked causally, as he sat down next to the curly-haired girl; Hermione didn't look up from her book, but he could see her shoulders tense a little. He didn't need to ask where his best mate went – he already knew.

'He went off with his girlfriend.' She stated calmly, turning a page in her book; Ron only sighed, leaning his arms across the table before reaching a hand out for her shoulder. The other teen only sighed, putting her book down on the surface as she closed her eyes, taking in several deep breaths to attempt to stop the tears that were threatening to come. The redhead gently squeezed her shoulder, Hermione pretending to rub her eyes as she wiped away the tears.

'Come on – let's head inside, I think the wind is bothering you.' He excused; the curly haired girl only glanced at him, before hesitantly nodding her head, moving to pack up her books. Ron reached to pick his bag off the ground, standing up to his feet before helping Hermione up from her seat, reaching a friendly arm around her shoulder as he lead them up towards the school building.

**-8-**

He had been antsy in his seat all day, literally jumping from his seat at the sound of the final bell; he wanted to get as far away from Blaise and Pansy that was possibly allowed. As expected, Pansy was not particularly happy when he told her the reason why he was dumping her; he got a good smack before she decided it wasn't enough and went ahead and punched him in the gut as well. Draco put a hand over his stomach – he could still feel the hit from several hours ago. He let out a breath having made it to the front doors without running into Pansy or Blaise; he was surprised the other teen was stalking his heels like he has been the past few days. He wondered if he finally got his point through the other and Blaise was finally getting off his back about seeing Zach.

He felt his body tingle thinking about the redhead; he knew he shouldn't be feeling these, but he couldn't help the sensations every time the man's face popped into his head. Draco quickly shook his head, treading down the steps of the school front and headed for the side gate around the left of the building. He shouldn't be eager, knowing what the other was doing to him couldn't possibly be right, but he couldn't help and shudder at the thought of what the older man would do to him today.

'Looks like you're ready to come right here, Draco.' Pale grey eyes glanced up to the man leaning against the wall of the open gate, the same cocky smirk on his effeminate face and looking too godly for his own good. Draco felt the blood rush to his face, causing it to flush as Zach chuckled, pushing himself away from the wall as he sauntered over to the young blond. The young teen didn't even have a chance to speak before the redhead leaned down to capture his lips, gently biting down on his lower lip before pulling away, laughing as the flush darkened.

'Ready to go then?' Draco could only nod his head, completely mesmorised by medium brown eyes gazing at him seductively. Zach reached a gentle hand out to run through soft silver blond hair, a gesture that surprised Draco a little, before the redhead withdrew his hand and motioned for his motorcycle. Draco followed wordlessly after the man, just barely passing through the gate before snapping out of his daze at someone calling out to him – and it was the last voice he ever wished to hear at this moment.

'Oy! Malfoy – where do you think you're going?' Draco cursed in his head as he gritted his teeth, not daring to face the second redhead he knew was coming towards him. He couldn't possibly think of what that git would want, unless it was revenge for his little trite with Hermione the other day. Zach glanced past him to the oncoming redhead, regarding him rather critically.

'Friend of yours, Draco?'

'No! Just an annoying school mate!' Draco spat out, glaring over his shoulder as Ron stood behind him, hands in his pockets and not looking all too happy. He only had to guess that Ron was going to punch his face, but he wasn't too worried; he wasn't sure why, but he was fairly confident Zach would not let him get hit. So it was rather surprising when the other reached out and yanked him by the arm.

'You think I'm gonna let you make me do the project by myself!'

'Excuse me?' He didn't have time to argue as the redhead began pulling him in the opposite direction, Draco trying to free his arm from the tight grasp.

'Let go, Weasley! And what the bloody hell are you talking about?'

'Our English group project – like hell I'm gonna do all the work!'

'We don't _have_ a group – ow! Let go!' A hand on Ron's shoulder halted the redhead for a moment, turning his head to face the man standing behind them. Ron had to blink a little as he stared down at the other redhead – somehow, he had imagined Zach to be taller.

'Do you mind – he obviously has no recollection of this _"project_" of yours.' The man stated coolly and Ron couldn't help but feel irritated at the tone of voice; he was beginning to see why Blaise hated this man so much. Ron shrugged his hand off, tightening his hold on Draco as he kept dragging the blond with him.

'Yeah well – you clearly don't know him like I do; he'll say anything to skip out on a group work with me.' It shouldn't have felt as satisfying seeing the older man's face twitch with slight jealously; Ron couldn't help but give him a smirk before turning his back to the other redhead and continued dragging Draco to the front gate, the shorter teen protesting all the way.

**-8-**

'… Blaise put you up to this, didn't he?' Draco snarled, slouching in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the table. Ron only smiled innocently as he took a sip of his cocoa.

'Who do you think is paying for this right now.' He simply answered, and couldn't help the smug grin as the other growled, slouching even further. The café was crowded, the people weaving in and out leaving the two boys in relative peace and seclusion. Ron glanced over to the blond, having effectively trapped him in the booth; if he had to do this five days out of the week it was worth seeing the disgruntled expression on the other's face.

'You can't keep me here forever, Weasley!'

'No, but I can keep you long enough.' Ron calmly stated, reaching down for his bag to pull out his homework from today. He heard Draco sigh, knocking his head against the back of the booth as he turned his gaze away from the redhead. Ron had to snicker before pulling out his literature assignment.

'Hey – has your class read "_Arcadia_" yet?' Draco glanced over from the corner of his eye, before turning his attention back to the wall of the café, giving the redhead a small shrug.

'Just finished with it a few days ago – why?' He asked without thinking; he heard some shuffling next to him, daring to peek over his shoulder to see the redhead pulling out the book along with his assignment. Icy grey eyes narrowed at him, Draco shaking his head as he looked away.

'No – no and no! And you know Flitwick doesn't give the same tests for the same book – even if the classes are different.'

'I know, but you're doing fair in literature and since I have to baby-sit you today, I can't do my usual tutoring with Hermione. So you'll have to do.' Ron stated as a matter of fact, waiting on the blond's reaction; he couldn't help but snicker at the glare the other sent at him, knowing that nothing riled the blond's temper more than condescending his intelligence. However, Draco refused to take the bait, letting out a huff as he tried to sit with his back towards the redhead; Ron only shook his head before pulling his homework towards him and began flipping through the book. He purposely read the questions outloud to himself, occasionally making a minor mistake here or there just to see if the other would respond to him – when the other didn't seem to take notice, he began making mistakes on even the most obvious of answers, till finally the blond turned to face him, snatching the book from his hands.

'Did you even read the bloody thing?! Give me that!' Ron tried not to grin as he watched slender pale fingers flip through the pages of the book, trying to find what he was looking for, pausing every so often to skim the words, before slamming the book down on the table, tip of his finger pointing to a passage.

'See, it _clearly_ states…' Draco suddenly paused, before turning to glare at the other teen sitting next to him and Ron couldn't help but laugh out loud at the expression, ducking his head down against the surface of the table. He felt Draco punch him hard on the shoulder, feeling the book being shoved back at his face.

'S-shut up! That's pathetic – even for you, Weasley!' Ron cleared his throat as he tried to stifle his laughter, glancing over at the blond with a slight smile that took him by surprise. The redhead held his book open expectantly, Draco blinking at him a few minutes, before sighing.

'All right – fine! But don't expect me to help anymore after this!' Ron didn't say anything as he turned his attention back to his assignment, regarding it seriously as he looked over it again. He did it mostly in silence, only pausing a few times on something that he honestly didn't understand, at which the blond would jump in and reluctantly help him figure it out.

Draco watched as the redhead worked in silence, only turning to him once or twice throughout the whole time when he was genuinely stumped on a question. He stared as Ron scribbled his answers down on the paper – he could barely read his handwriting and wonder it was a miracle the professors could; he watched as Ron bit his lower lip as he concentrated, or the occasional furrow of his eye brows when the thought rested at the tip of tongue, but he couldn't quite grab it. Draco felt the blood rush to his face, quickly turning away when he realised he was staring more than he should; it was odd, he admitted, seeing the older teen so diligent and focused. He didn't think he'd ever see Ron like that. By the time the redhead was finished with his assignment, the crowds were beginning to thin, the sudden serenity of the café finally alerting each boy of the time.

Ron glanced down at his watch seeing it was crawling past four-thirty, shuffling to put his school supplies away in his bag, sliding out from his seat.

'Guess that's it for today.' Draco couldn't have been more happy to hear those words than any other time, quickly sliding out of the booth he had been trapped in for the past hour. Ron hovered a little over his shoulder as he stood up, but the blond tried to ignore him, adjusting the bag strap on his shoulder before marching towards the door.

'You going to go running off to your boyfriend's then?' He stiffened at the question, not daring to face the other knowing his face was flushed.

'No, Zach's probably at work by now… and he's _not_ my boyfriend!' Draco stated clearly – why did he have to make that known, or perhaps he was still afraid of admitting his own sexual orientation. He heard the redhead chuckling, glaring at him from the corner of his eye as the other walked up next to him; the other didn't say anything as they exited out of the café together, coming out to the sidewalk.

'Just remember, I'll be doing this every day after school.' Ron reminded, seeing the blond grit his teeth at the thought, before brushing him off.

'Git!' He spat; Ron wasn't sure why he did it, but he stopped the blond a moment, making Draco face him. He reached a tender hand for the back of the blond's head, leaning in to give him a tender peck on the forehead; Draco froze as he felt the redhead press his lips lightly against his skin.

'See you tomorrow.' He gave him a smile before Ron turned on his heels and walked away from him, leaving the blond standing there still trying to catch up with what had happened. As the cogs in his mind finally caught up with him, Draco was sure his face was red, putting a hand over his mouth as he stared down at the pavement.

_Wha… what the __**hell**__ was that?!_

**---- Chapter Fifteen ----**

Hmm – things are getting interesting…


	16. Chapter 16 : And You?

**Warnings: **Will contain sexual content as the story progresses; AU (Alternate Universe) so no magic is involved

**Rating:** M (mature)

**- Chapter Sixteen: And You? -**

He stared up at the ceiling, vaguely hearing the distance annoying chatter of birds resting in the tree by the window. How long had he been lying here since he got home; he had homework to do, but at least the literature work was done, but he still had other work to do. He couldn't bring himself to move, he wasn't even sure if he was blinking – he knew he was breathing due the steady rising and falling of his chest, and the sound of the air as it entered and leaves his lungs.

_Bloody…_ He couldn't stop thinking about today, about this afternoon's little bout in the café; he reached a hand over his eyes, letting out a silent groan at the persistence of his memories. Why had he done that? Perhaps he just wanted to tease the blond, torture him, make fun of his situation, of the fact that someone who had always looked down at him was now struggling through his own sexual orientation and awareness. He moved his hand just a little – his fingers briefly remembered the softness of silver blond strands, he felt as if he had touched delicate, pure silk; the smooth pale skin had been warm against his lips, it surprised him a little. A growl escaped his throat, rolling onto his stomach as he screamed silently into the pillow – maybe if he suffocated himself now, just a little bit, he'd wake up from this nightmare… or would fantasy be more accurate in this case?

'Hey Ron – you still up? Remus says dinner's in ten minutes.' The knock and the voice jolted Ron from his thoughts, glancing over his shoulder lazily at the door; he let out a sigh before pushing himself up from the bed, bare feet paddling across the carpeted floor softly. He opened the door to the sable haired teen standing on the other side, emerald green eyes staring at him with slight concern.

'You all right? You look tired.'

'Just have a lot on my mind, that's all.' He excused to his best friend, giving him a sheepish smile and a shrug. Harry only sighed, placing his hands on his hips – of course he'd get nagged by him.

'Look, if it's about staying here, don't worry about it – Sirius and Remus already treat you like part of the family anyways.'

'And what? You're the annoying pesky little brother who always wants to hang around his big brother?' Ron teased with a wide grin; Harry's face flushed a little, staring at the redhead with his mouth hanging open, before punching the redhead on the arm, half yelling at him for the remark. Ron only laughed, ducking out of the way of the punch, before gesturing to his room.

'Sit and chat? It doesn't look like I'm the only one with something on his mind.' Harry gazed at him with an uneasy glare, before lowering his fist, glancing out to the side. Ron simply stepped aside, holding his hand out as an indication that Harry was allowed to enter if he wanted to. The raven-head hesitated a moment, before sighing and stepped inside, ignoring the stifling snickers from his friend. The two boys made their way to the bed, sitting across from each other on the mattress; the tree outside was silent as the birds had continued on with their migration.

'So – what's up? You always come to me when you can't tell Remus or Sirius.' Harry sat silent, staring at the floor as his friend await for his answer; Ron sighed, before turning his gaze to stare out the window, watching the yellow autumn leaves sway clinging to the tree.

'Obviously has to do with Cho – since Sirius will automatically tell you to stop seeing her.' Harry sighed with a small laugh, turning his gaze to the teen sitting across from him.

'You're a bloody idiot when it comes to school, but you're near impossible to keep a secret from when it comes to people.' Sapphire blue eyes gazed into emerald green, a soft smile coming to the redhead's face as he watched his friend warmly.

'Yeah, I suppose when you feel like you've been cut off by the people you love the most, you learn to be sensitive like that.' He answered sadly; Harry reached a hand to scratch the back of his head, turning his gaze back down to the floor as he fell back into silence. Ron sat patiently as he waited for his friend to answer him, finally after several minutes, the other spoke.

'You're right – it is about Cho and me… she's – been asking me things lately, and – I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with it…'

'Ah! Don't tell me – she's asking for sex now?'

'It-it has nothing to do with that at all!' Harry near shouted back, more than half his face went as red as Ron's hair. Ron only laughed, giving him a half shrug at the tease, Harry giving him a pout as he turned his eyes away.

'Sorry sorry – had to, you know?'

'I know, I know – it's a "thing" you picked up from the twins.' He huffed, before the glare faded from his face, staring blankly at the carpet; Ron gazed at him for a silent second, before sighing, reaching to pull his hair behind his ear.

'All right, I'm done being an idiot – so being serious, just what has she been asking lately?'

'… She says – I'm putting too much effort into this relationship, that it's leaving – a bad impression.'

'Well to be quite honest, if someone were doing that to me, I'd feel a bit put off by it as well. I mean, it's like you're trying to impress her just so you can be with her.' Harry sighed, burying his forehead against the palms of his hands.

'I know, but I just – I don't know; how else should I treat her?'

'For starters – stop thinking she's some prize you won, or something. Just treat her like a normal person.' Ron explained, leaning on his hands as he shifted his position a little; Harry gazed at him with an uneasy glance, folding his hands over his ankle as emerald green orbs stared down at the bedding.

'Yeah, but – I still want to make her feel special too, you know. She's more than just a friend to me – ouch!' Harry winced at the finger that poked him hard at the center of his forehead, glancing up at Ron with a questioning glare. The redhead only glanced back with a serious look, reaching again with a gentler motion.

'You only have to do that once in a while – do it too much and you're pretty much just asking for trouble.' Harry only blinked at him, Ron letting out a sigh as he leaned back on his arms.

'Look – just treat her like you would Hermione; god knows you two flirt when Cho's not around.' A light pink flashed across the sable haired boy's face, staring at his friend in slight horror, before an irritated scowl came to Harry's face.

'T-that! I do _not_ flirt with Hermione!' He yelled out; Ron looked at him with a blank stare, before a large grin came to his face, casually waving a hand in the air.

'I was joking; honestly, you can't even tell that much?' The pink colour on Harry's cheeks darkened, a sheepish smile coming to his face as he reached a hand to scratch the back of his head. He muttered small apologies to the redhead, Ron merely shrugging them off; the two laughed a bit before a voice from down the hall called out to both of them.

'Boys! Dinner's ready!'

'Coming!' They both replied in unison, Harry jumping off from the bed first and headed towards the door; he paused noticing that the other hadn't followed him, glancing over his shoulder confused.

'You all right, Ron?'

'Yeah, I'll be there in a bit; need to wash up first.' He answered, waving with his hand to show the other could go ahead without him. Harry hummed before heading out the door, his footsteps fading fast down the hall as he headed downstairs for the dining room. Ron slumped back against his arms, staring up at the ceiling; he had hoped that comment earlier would drop a hint to Harry, but it seemed that his friend was going to play oblivious for a little longer. Not that the two really did flirt to the point it was bluntly obvious, but Ron knew enough to catch the subtleties; he sighed before getting up from the bed and headed out to the bathroom to clean up, then head down for dinner.

**- Chapter Sixteen -**


End file.
